Wave Study 11 and a Pair of New Boots

©2012 R.L. Delight, Wave Study 11, 6"x8", oil on hemp canvas

It has been quite a day. The sun came out and I actually felt warm enough to shed a few layers while painting on the beach this morning. The drawback to the sun coming out is that there are more people wandering around the beach which means folks are likely to want to come up and chat. I had a hard time concentrating with the interruptions.
I spent the past two days getting caught up on chores and prepared for the next round of ten paintings. The weather was a bit stormy so it worked out well since the sun came out today. The ocean was a lovely shade of dark green with the mostly blue sky reflecting off the water.
For today's painting, I did my best to concentrate on values, in spite of the interruptions. The picture of the painting above was taken at twilight which meant I had to use the daylight bulbs. The painting was wet and the canvas buckling a bit on the panel so there is a bit of a glare on the wet paint. I simply tape the edges of the canvas to the panel which is not ideal and causes bucking. These are reference and practice sketches only. They get removed from the boards to pin up on the bulletin board. The paintings that I will be selling will be on nice linen canvas boards.

Just for fun, here is a picture I took right after I packed up to leave for the day:

Of course, the angle is different and the lens does not get the close up perspective I can get from life. Notice how dull and flat it looks? This is why I don't use photos for reference at this point. They can have their place though. So pick a wave, any wave. The need to keep size, perspective, and interest means I edit, heavily, when designing a composition. I do sketch it out in my notebook first after studying what the waves are doing that day. The light and tides had changed quite a bit by the time I took this picture and the clouds over the ocean at this point were not as dramatic. Looking south was a completely different story. I could see a dark curtain of rain sweeping in from the sea. I managed to beat it home.

I had the camera with me today because it was so nice and I wanted to try to get a picture of me painting for my profile on my Facebook page. Here is what I ended up with,

The boots I am wearing are my old ones and yes, my feet are wet. As I mentioned earlier, it was warm enough to shed some layers. When I got home and picked up the mail, my new boots had arrived. I get to try them out possibly tomorrow if I don't need to paint from the truck.
So much to learn. Good thing I am planning to paint 100 sketches to start with. I am going to need all the practice I can get. I have a final coat or two of gesso to put on the remaining small hemp canvases and then I can work on finished paintings and drawing practice in the afternoons.
I am having a hard time staying awake so I best finish up.
Take care all!