Storm Breaker (WIP)

I planned to paint plein air last Friday, which was a beautiful sunny day after two days of gales and heavy rain. I had a hunch that there would still be some spectacular action int he ocean, so I drove to Hook Head. The ocean didn't disappoint, but I chickened out because of the wind - my excuse was that I would have needed a smaller panel and heavier easel. But at least I got some great photos and made some on-site colour notes.

Today, I just got the urge to do a wave painting from my numerous photos, so I started a studio piece (16" x 20") based on this photo:-

This was my initial block-in, about 10 minutes work. I'm always amazed at just how quickly believable light and shadow patterns emerge, with just a little care regarding relative values and pushing warm/cool differences a little (a lot relative to the photo but not compared to my colour notes):-

And after about another half hour or so:-

I think I may let it dry a little for a day or so now and poerhaps start another one in the meantime.