In this free painting demo, Kathleen Hudson takes us through 8 steps to creating a beautiful plein air painting of waves crashing on a rocky beach. Learn from Kathleen in person at this year’s Plein Air Convention & Expo, May 21-25 in Denver, Colorado!
Bonus: Learn the key to joyful, bold brushwork: pre-mixing piles of paint and laying color down with confidence on an underpainting where all the composition and drawing problems have already been solved in Kathleen’s video workshop, “Waterfall Secrets.”
Step 1
Painting on location in Tequesta, Florida, Kathleen Hudson applies a rough wash composed of ultramarine blue and transparent red oxide. Note that the paint is not fully mixed so the color remains active.
Step 2
The artist has applied a rough grid, dividing the canvas into thirds. This allows her to stabilize the composition. She has begun the drawing with some dark, thick lines in varying weights of red oxide and ultramarine. Note that the outcropping rock in the middle distance has been placed right on a corner of the grid. This will become the focal point of the painting.
Step 3
The main masses and shapes have been blocked in, in full color. While the painting is bold, it is still fairly thin, allowing the artist to work on top.
Step 4
Hudson begins to brush in variants of the color in the major areas, particularly the sky, to create a sense of the nuance and richness of the scene. By working up the sky first, she sets up the light for her work on the sea and the land that will reflect it.
Step 5
The artist continues to add information, building the sea and sky, and bulk-ing up the cascading wave.
Step 6
More detail is added to the wave and water.
Step 7
The artist now builds up the foreground. Even though the color in the darks
is close, she keeps it active by allowing the paints in the mixture to remain separate. The brushwork remains direct and vigorous.
Final Step
In the final scene, the color has been enriched by more turquoises and yellows in the sea. The rocks have also received more work, and the color now includes more raw sienna. Note how the blues dragged on top of the rocks work as reflections of the sky. Various edges have been softened. The focus remains on the outcropping rock in the middle ground where the edges are held fairly hard, drawing the eye to the central drama.
We hope you enjoyed this free painting demo!
Remember: Learn the key to joyful, bold brushwork: pre-mixing piles of paint and laying color down with confidence on an underpainting where all the composition and drawing problems have already been solved in Kathleen’s video workshop, “Waterfall Secrets.”
“Great landscape video by Kathleen Hudson. She shares insights and teaches in a way that is conversational with a nice rhythm and flow. So glad I bought it! Thanks!” ~ Margaret M. James
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