Quick Demo of a Daily Oil Painting...Beach Dunes

'Wild and Free'          5x7          oil on panel       ©Karen Margulis  $100

I'm glad I was keeping track of how I spent my time this week.  I was productive and I have proof on paper!  Now I will treat myself to a weekend with family at the lake.  So today I am scrambling to get myself together and packed and set up the room for my first day of Summer Art Camp.  On Monday morning I will have 4 10 year old girls come for art camp.  They will be coming for three days and I have some fun projects planned. I will be joining them and I will blog about it too so you are welcome to join us! I'll be back to posting on Monday.

Today I am sharing a mini demo of one of the oil paintings I did this week. I had some paint left over on my palette after working on my big oil. It wasn't really enough to save but too much to throw out so I did this 5x7 beach scene.  This is Dionis Beach on Nantucket Island. It is a beautiful beach sheltered by Dunes. We were the only ones there to enjoy it and it just seemed so wild and free.

Mini demo of Dionis Beach dunes

1. (from top left) I am working on a 5x7 panel which I have toned with thin paint that I wiped off leaving a yellow-orange tone.  I indicated my design with thin reddish paint.  
2. Next step I block in the darks with alizarin and ultramarine blue, I vary the mixture and have some areas lean more toward red. I took a break and worked on something else for an hour to let this thin area of darks dry somewhat. I put in a darker yellow orange in the foreground sand. I want to have this peel through the lighter sand color later on.
3. I mix the blue for the water with some white, ultramarine and Phthalo Turquoise (yes I added a new color to my limited palette!)  I continue with the sky my lightening the water color and adding some warmer colors near the horizon. I move onto the greens my adding some more blue and yellow to my sky colors. I use this lighter, cooler green in the distance and warm it in the foreground grasses.
4. Now it is time for the sand. I start with the distant sand which is a duller pinkish color and I gradually make it brighter by adding more yellow and white for the foreground sand. I finish by adding some grasses and shells with a palette knife.