In the making

This painting is 76 x 102 cms and I named it "The Sea Shepherds". I have, over the past few years, come across some very dedicated people who have been affiliated with this fine ship, some even having served time on her decks. Their commitment and dedication to saving the whales goes above and beyond in my opinion, and it was because of this that I decided to help bring attention to the plight of these gentle giants of the seas. I am hoping to make prints available to people, of this painting and donate the profits to the Sea Shepherd's Foundation.

Some tips and hints on how this one was created!

1. In my initial sketch, I used Indigo thinned with turps. The horizon is hidden behind the big wave, so I have to organise my own horizon to give me the correct perspective. I don’t worry too much about getting infinite detail, as that will come further down the track.

2. Next, I now add a little Burnt Umber to the above colour to deepen it on the ship only. The dark water below the ship is Indigo. A little more detailing is painted on the wave, keeping the water lightest behind the bow, to give contrast with the dark of the ship in front of it.

3. More attention is now given to the giant wave. I fill in this monster with a mix of the above colours plus a little Turquoise, Viridian, Alizarin Crimson and a load of Titanium White using wax medium. The water glitter to the right is Titanium White plus a tiny amount of Yellow Ochre Pale. Carefully blobbing the paint and not softening it too much gives it a realistic light effect. If one fiddles too much with any colour, it tends to kill the fresh effect.

4. The grey colour on the ship is again a mix of Titanium White, plus the above colours in a different proportion. The blue camouflage had a little Sevres Blue in it. I left the foam bow wave void of paint, as I want to make it the brightest area in the painting to again, maximise on the dark contrasting hull of the ship. All my darks are increasingly softer, the further away they appear & all my lights are a little duller, the further back they appear.

5. I mainly used Indigo and Viridian, to darken the foreground water and mixed a tiny amount of Cadmium Yellow Pale, Viridian and white for the translucent water. I then outlined the whale, as this was an integral part of the painting. I really like to tell a story in my work. What HAS happened, what IS happening & what MAY happen! Each person may read something different, that of course is their prerogative.

6. Now, using a fine sable, I painted the rigging, masts, ladders, and signage, also a little seagull by the bow wave. You will also notice that the whale has been altered after my daughter, Serena suggested a Blue Whale would add more character. I agreed with her. Incidentally, a tip regarding using a fine sable brush. Make the paint a little more like ink, as you will get a much more fluid line without the drier bumpy linework. Work out the angle of your intended line and keep the brush handle pointing the same direction so you are pulling the brush and keeping the point sharp. If you suddenly pull the brush at an angle to the handle, you will bend it and lose the fine line. Don’t paint across your body, so your armpit is being squashed, as it will hamper your ability to paint a thin line. Move yourself, or your painting constantly, to keep your armpit open and you will find it a lot easier to paint those scary little lines.

7. The final touches were put in painting another mate for the first seagull, which I altered slightly to make it bigger, and also deleted the diagonal white foam in the right hand foreground, as I felt the dark water added stability to the painting.