Pa Beach Christmas Sail

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Comment by Barbara Sawyer on December 29, 2011 at 19:55

Hi stu   yes  i really like your water     the shallows are WONDERFUL great reflection on the   water from the  sail boat     A+ 

Comment by Sharon Casavant on December 28, 2011 at 2:41

Wonderful painting.  I love the brushwork.  Love how you carried the warmth out into the ocean.  It draws you to the boat!  I agree that the rocks could use a little more definition, though.

Comment by Judy Hill on December 25, 2011 at 15:59

Hi Stuart, the sailboat is a nice touch and focal point. The boat reflections are very well done as well as the water.  The rocks on the left shore lack variety and definition....only negative, another nice painting in your album.  WELL DONE .....  Judy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comment by Xiao Li on December 25, 2011 at 15:01

Agree with Paolo, the shadow on the water is really amazing.

Comment by Dorian Aronson on December 25, 2011 at 11:21

I can learn from you.  Very nice!

Comment by Paolo Puggioni on December 25, 2011 at 10:17

Well, the time on the water was well spent, it's great!

And I love the shadows you managed to paint on it. I tried that effect myself on my painting but then I gave up:)

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on December 25, 2011 at 9:09

Dania, thanks. I rushed the troo and the rocks after spending my time on the water. I will take the advice given by you and Richard and repaint with a larger brush and thicker paint. Merry Christmas. Stu

Comment by Dania Bree on December 25, 2011 at 6:52

Stuart,

Nice composition with the sailboat.  Love the transition of the water from being able to see the bottom into the deeper density of the turquoise and blue.  Helpful hints:  In the darker area of the rock on the right I would try to paint more color into the shadows so you see into them.  When Richard is talking about the trees - I have the tendency to dab myself and am trying the break the habit by using a larger brush.  My battle hymn is:  Lay down pieces of paint in context of the mass and leave it !  Great Job !  Have a wonderful Christmas !

Comment by Stuart J. Gourlay on December 23, 2011 at 11:31

Richard, thank you very much. I'll give it a try with a larger brush and thicker paint along with the other changes that you suggest. Stu

Comment by Richard Robinson on December 23, 2011 at 9:06

Hi Stuart, thanks for your painting, here are some thoughts on it:

Design

Nice idea for the design Stuart - I especially like the addition of the yacht and the red sail to go with the Pohutukawa blossoms and complementary green. The foreground silhouette is a bold concept that you’ve carried off well with varied shapes - I feel you could have made more of a feature of the wiggly root/s and perhaps a touch more light in there, but that’s being picky.  Your design works well to emphasize the inviting turquoise water which is the main subject here. I also like how you’ve parted the distant hills to give us somewhere exciting to sail to - a nice subtle touch.

Colour

The colours in the water are really well done - you’ve not only captured the subtle shift from blue to green to brown but you’ve also managed some detail on the bottom, some smooth swells reflecting the sky, and those complex shadows cast by the trees. Nice work there! Sadly, the rest of the colours are not so well observed. The shadow and light areas in the tree are not clearly defined, the major background hill is too gray, the sky is too light and the rocks on the left need some more cool grays reflected into them.

Brushwork

When I say ‘you’re a dab hand’ at this, that’s not always good! A bit to much dabbing going on here for my liking. I want to see you paint over portions of this with a bigger brush and thicker paint, whilst yelling the battle-cry of a passionate painter - “This is a masterpiece!”. Try painting an apple with only 20 strokes - there’s a good project.

Realism

As I said, the water is great, although the drawing of the waves could be better, the colour is really good. Nice to see you’ve put a little reflected light into the foreground rather than leaving it pure silhouette because this really helps with the realism there. The form of the rocks on the left could be better - needs clearer distinction of shadow, light, warm reflected light (from other rocks) and cool reflected light (from the sky) and some good hard edges here and there. It is a very complex subject what with the dappled light on them as well, but not too much harder than the water which you’ve done so well. The form of the tree similarly needs to be looked at more critically. The yacht has been very well placed and shaped which is a tricky thing to do, so well done there.

Hope that helps some.

R.

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