Lighthouse at Sunset is a momento of our sunset cruise out of Portland, Maine this past summer.
This was one of many lighthouses we found in our search for the Elusive Lighthouse Photo. After painting a lighthouse during the daytime, I thought I would try a lighthouse at dusk, against the dramatic orange and purple sky. Known as Bug Light for its small size, the Portland Breakwater Light has great views of the city’s skyline.
I’m lucky I got a painting done at all yesterday. Jay and I had a lovely time at the afternoon party. Then it took me a while to settle down and recalibrate.
Before dinner I had about 90 minutes. Here’s where I stopped to eat. At this point, the lighthouse was much lighter and the paint much thinner.
I kept going and thought I was done at a reasonable hour, though I would have liked more time (and daylight!) to experiment with grayish purple in the sky. After cleaning my brushes late, I came back into the studio and took a last look. The lighter grey backlit lighthouse didn’t fit with the integrity of the painting.
Then I darkened it so it was more in shadow. While I was much happier with the overall look, the paint became very wet and the drawing more imprecise. I forgot to paint in part of the roof on the lower fenced walkway, but the painting was too wet to attempt it. I will next week.
I like this painting more in person. I mixed a purplish grey for the cloud and water, but it comes through too strong in the photos. I took way too many photos this morning to try and get it right. Sometimes paintings just don’t photograph well. Or maybe I was just kidding myself because the camera doesn’t lie.
So I starting researching colors other artists use for clouds. After reading about Old Holland Blue Grey on an artist website, I decided to order it before I start a car hood ornament painting that has grey background clouds in it. Old Holland is still my favorite brand of paint, and naturally the most expensive. The blues are stunning but subtle. Not surprising since Holland is home to striking blue Deftware. The Dutch know their blues!
On to the next painting. I have the whole day so I can try something more intricate. Wish me luck!