Some parts of this website will not work with Internet Explorer.

Please use a different browser such as Chrome or Firefox.

Back to Original

Ebb Tide

Voy Kay 11 Oct 2020

Long while since I painted a sea scenery. This one is destined for the living room next to the others. Thirteen can be exposed there in total, this is the 11th!
This one is not easy but not too difficult either. The sky needs a lot of attention though and is a lot of work but SO rewarding when it turns out okay.
Most trouble I had with the small canvas (10"x12"), not using an oval, the shoreline and the pebbles. I wanted to paint a small boat in there (like Sunnylady did) as well but decided against it since the horizon sky was a real success and I wanted it free of objects.
Please enjoy, comment freely and enjoy some articles!!

Oils
Featured Article Water sparkles above and around your waves and falls

Comments

Voy, that is absolute success! no boat is needed as you positioned the wave just perfect. This painting is about the wave truly. The only one thing that I think could be just slightly improved is the border between purple and yellow in the eye of the wave. Waves on the shore are SUPER!

Sky is excellent!

Very nice. I like the way you have meshed the skyline with the horizon by adding that distant wave, I thought of doing that but I didn't think it would work, you proved me wrong, it's brilliant. I found mine hard work too, worth it in the end though. Your shoreline is fabulous.

MHK Helpful Friendly User

You nailed it!!! Love the eye and amazing sky Very well done

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

Dear Sunnylady, it is like you stated, the wave is the star here. Under that magnificent sky, it came out so very well!
Concerning the eye of the wave, I had noticed that too and will take some action to blend that a little more, thank you for the tip!!

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

GunaM, such pleasure to read your cheers and comment! Till next one!!

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

Dear TLP, thank you so much for your cheers!
The horizon has been done with a 00-scriptliner and some Twhite. It needed the most gentle approach, simply because this painting is four times smaller then what Bob uses. Creating such thin white line is never difficult however since it never has to be an absolute straight metric line, thus perfect for a liner brush.

I was really upset about that shoreline at first but in the end (and viewing at a short distance), it does show a vivid/wild look!

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

MHK, you are the master of vivid and spectacular skies! Such much honoured and grateful for your visit and comment!
Till next painting my friend!

The sky is perfect and the splashes on your wave are very realistic! I like how birds always add life to a scene.

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

To tell the truth FVG, I never painted birds faster then in this painting. And they came out about the best! Weird morning I had!!
Thanks for cheering and enjoying!

Happy painting!

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

Great comment Tom!
I have to say, this painting brightens up the room and sometimes, I feel like I need sunglasses to look at it!
I like seasceneries a lot but maybe that is because there are no mountains and no foliage involved!
The important factor for keeping high quality painting here was to be at rest, having a calm mood and a heart at peace. I discovered I paint better that way instead of having to rush.
Pity is that I can only paint Bob Ross style ine the weekends and on Monday, since for the rest of the week, my office (where I paint since the computer is located there) is occupied by the missus who works from home three weeks a month.
That's why the rest of the week, you see either Afrcian style paintings from me or drawings.

Till next one!

@ Voy, I think you nailed it about seascapes. No mountains and no trees! yay! they are the challenge that I did not learn to address yet.

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

Haha, Sunnylady, for some reason I am more comfortable about painting that giant wave then putting foliage on trees and highlights mountains.
Just visited YOUR seascapes again and my word, the last two you painted !!!!! AND that B/W sketch !!!! You do create magic at sea girl!!

Happy painting!!

Thank you Voy! You are so kind!

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

AH ..... just hopelessly sentimental! :)

MHK Helpful Friendly User

I agree, it is difficult to make a wave the standout focus, you're sky is awesome, the birds add great depth and the center of attention immediately brings your eye to the eye of the wave. Nicely done!

Pietro1963 Master of Monsters

I aspire to create waves as grand as these.Great work Voy!

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

Always happy with you visit and cheers MHK!
The wave was made a little bigger on purpose since I did not use and oval, which would not have matched in the living room.
I was most afraid of the sky failing because of the liquid white but in the end, it worked out fine!

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

Dear Pietro, I admit that my first try at waves was with wobbly knees but now, I am seeing them as my friends and I really plunge into painting them. I'm more terrified now with shorelines and rocks!! :):)

A good one to use for practice on beach pebbles is Deep Forest Falls. Load the filbert with dark colour both sides then add just one stroke of light colour to one side. Using the brush sideways, do a semi-circle motion on the canvas with the light side facing whatever direction you want your highlight. The thing to remember about beach pebbles is that unlike mountain rocks they are always smooth and fairly rounded in shape, even the flat ones are curved so I wouldn't use the knife. I live by the sea and I would love to paint the perfect shoreline one day!

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

Dear Landscapepainter, thanks so much for your comment and advice.
I tried the pebbles in the way you and Bob describe it yet somehow that failed. I could not get enough contrast in it and the paint had troubles sticking on the canvas, it tried to mix too much with the brownish underground.
So there, I sort of plunged the two colours on it and very carefully tried to make shapes/shadows on them with a scriptliner. That worked a little yet I dared not to put too many of them.
What certainly helped a lot was the gentle underlining with Twhite for a very nice accent. I also did that with my signature but guess nobody had noticed this so far (the wave draws all the attention! :):):)).

Till next one!

Your underlining is indeed very effective Voy. And no I didn't notice the underlining on your signature but that's my fault as I am not very observant. Perhaps you have started a new trend and we will all be doing it from now on!

Voy Kay Conqueror of Challenges

Dear TLP, that would be the day, underscoring signatures as trendsetting!
In fact, this little joke of mine really worked here as it would probably do so with many sea sceneries.

Till next one!

Sign in to leave a comment.


Not a member yet?
Join over 5500 other painters and share your paintings with the world!

Register now