“Off Bass Rocks” - watercolor seascape painting

“Off Bass Rocks” - 7” x 11”, watercolor on paper

A simple scene with a simple subject. This painting started as a notion rather than a formed idea.

I don’t live near the ocean but hot summers remind me of being at the beach on hot, hazy days. I really wanted a subject that represented relatively flat light on a summer afternoon. A simple scene would show that the best.

In my thinking, simplicity was the key to the scene - no dramatic light or overly rugged coast line. Instead, it needed to be something that would convey a bit of quiet and peacefulness.

With idea in mind, was a search through sketchbooks, seeking a scene that would do the trick. It didn’t take long to find a pencil sketch from 2017.

The sketch was a small group of rocks, just off the shore. The pencil sketch was simple, quiet and non-dramatic - a perfect starting point for the quiet scene I had in mind.

All paintings are expressions of some idea formed in the artist’s mind. Even the most realistic scene is actually abstracted and - to a very large degree - a re-constructed version of the subject. It is the same with this scene. The main group of rocks is changed in shape and size, and placed in a compelling location on the page. Every other element is added for balance but kept simple to support the idea and theme.

The color palette was kept simple as well. The idea of a quiet, peaceful scene is best conveyed when contrasts are minimized and harmony rules. Still, some contrast is needed, to make sure the scene is interesting. The most prominent contrast is in color - balancing cool blue-greens against red-orange - all mixed from a set of five common colors.