Back to California, Edward Seago as a mindset.
Up north along the Pacific are many beaches with dramatic cliffs, sandy beaches, fog, and it is always exciting to drive along the coastal route – usually Highway 1 – to enjoy the scenery. Sometimes you need to wander a bit off the beaten path to find a bit of paradise, but exploration is always fun!
I don’t remember what colors I used specifically, but I do recall ultramarine and cobalt blues, burnt sienna, yellow ochre, cadmium yellow, Hooker’s green, and possibly a bit of alizarin. The scene is a bit soft because the coastal fog, prevalent along the California coast, is in the distance. The air is moist. And, it is chilly! Mark Twain supposedly said the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. You know what I mean if you have experienced it!
We all have our own styles and methods of painting, and in some ways I like the way I paint, in other ways I dislike it a lot. Here, I focused on simplification but in some areas did a bit more working of a subject than I should have, such as on the right distant cliffs, ocean, and sky. The estuary below the headland is simple enough – at least I realized that and didn’t do anything more to it. My bush is also okay, but perhaps it could have been simpler – or the foreground, too – but when something is close to the viewer, details do become important. Each leaf and blade of grass, though, would be excessive.
Hahnemuhle 9×12 140# CP paper, watercolors, Northern California.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 