Painting Southern Light

Had a day to spend in town today so took my paints with me, set up early and painted this beautiful old concrete boat in the Whangarei Town Basin. Apparently it was used in the movie 'mutiny on the bounty' years ago. I loved the shape and the way the dark hull merged with its reflection into one large mass, and the character filled details of all the old style rigging.

The owners were super friendly - as were all the dozens of people who stopped by to chat and give their own brand of encouragement. Always good when a painting is going well. Not so much when it's not. If you notice a slightly chunkier style to the finished painting it's because I was thinking very much of Charles Movalli's work, which I really admire. He treats each painting like a piece of music - something to think about, often.

The trickiest part of this painting was the drawing which changed as the tide came in and raised the boat, and the light, as ever, which couldn't decide if it was overcast or sunny, but I tried hard to stay with the initial overcast lighting idea. Changing the plan half way through a painting is more often than not a recipe for a muddy scraper. Really enjoyed this one.

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