Bahamas sailing and sunsets

 On nice thing about my small watercolor kit, it is super easy to travel with.  That means I have it with me all the time.  Ready to paint wherever I am.  For example, the second night I was able to paint the below sunset while we were anchored off Abaco Island.

We spent a wonderful week sailing around the Bahamas.  From Abaco Island we sailed to Green Turtle Cay, Fowl Cay National Park, Man-o-war Cay, and Elbow Cay.  We anchored off shore or picked up a mooring bouy in the harbor.  Each night we watched the sunset; and the following morning the sunrise.  

Watercolor Retreat day 5

The Final day we painted a girl on the beach.  This was the most challenging painting of the retreat.  There was moving water, reflections on the sand, and a human form.  

We started by painting the wet sand, leaving the area of the girl’s reflection unpainted.  

Then we painted the shadows on her clothes.  I used a grey green color for the shadows of the skirt.  It doesn’t look right now, but when red is painted on top the shadows will look right. 

Next I painted the ocean:

• Leaving bits of white in the foreground for foam, in the mid ground for waves, and in the background for sun reflections.
• Adding darker shadows under the waves at the shoreline

I then painted the girls skin: 

• Leaving highlights, adding mid tone shadows.
• Adding her reflections on the sand.

I painted the girls hair.  Then masked the dots on the skirt and painted it red. The last item was darkening some shadows and finishing the reflection on the wet sand.  

Watercolor Retreat day 4

The fourth day we worked on a painting of an egret on an oyster bar at sunset.  We used the techniques we had practiced earlier (masking areas of the painting and layering transparent pigments).  

This time we painted the bird and oysters first.  

When the painting was dry we masked the bird.  Making sure to cover all the small feathers.

Then vertical lines of yellow and pink were painted.  Followed by horizontal lines of purple.  The paper and paint were very wet, allowing the paint to flow across the paper and mix.  These lines create the reflections and ripples on the water, as well as the mud of the oyster bar.

When the painting was dry the masking was removed.  Additional shadows were added to the oysters and mud.  The brush used for the masking didn't have a fine tip so the feathers are a bit blunt, but I still was happy with how the painting turned out.