Painting Three Cliffs Bay

I looked at all the photographs I took of Three Cliffs Bay and picked a close-up shot of the Cliffs to paint.  I wanted the cliffs themselves to be the main focus of the painting.

After getting the scale and perspective of the image right, I focused on using a variety of painting techniques to capture the texture, cragginess and vibrancy of the three rock structures. I decided to paint Three Cliffs in Watercolour Paints because it is a very immediate medium and works well with most painting techniques.

I painted the sky first, using a watered down Cerulean Blue. After brushing the paint on I immediately sponged out certain areas to create the clouds (A painting technique known as lifting off).  This technique gives softness to the edges of each of the clouds. I also added a small amount of crimson red to the sky. Just a hint to give the sky warmth and a small amount of lemon yellow to the clouds, to give the sky a sunny glow.

Next I focused on recreating the wonderful textures in the rock-face of the Three Cliffs. I used a dabbing technique to blend the rock colours and dropped paint into pre-wetted areas of the paper to create interesting colour blends.

I also used a dry brush technique to enhance various areas of the painting such as moss growing from the rocks.

Finally I felt that the painting lacked the craginess rock texture it needed to really evoke the majesty of the great looming rocks we know as Three Cliffs. I solved this by using a scalpel knife to scrape into the paint adding carving-like areas into the painting.