Northumberland Coast Workshop 23 May 2015

Workshop involved 12 people started at 10.00 and was due to finish at 4.00 pm but people started to drift off after three. Everyone was given a 1/4 sheet on 200 lb Bockingford not paper so we were all painting on the same surface.
 My preference is Bockingford over the rag papers of Saunders Waterford or Arches as I find it gives brighter colours and easier to lift off. The down side is that is does not take more than three washes.

I decided to amend the my original painting to enlarge the castle, make the house larger, shorten the rocks below the house so as to not run into Rumbling Kern and to lift the Kern to break the horizon.

Colours used and order of painting

1. Sky cobalt blue with light red, ultramarine and burnt sienna and naples yellow. ( I used Daler Rowney naples yellow as I find this gives a weak grey to the bottom of the sky without turning green. Other manufactures tend to be too strong of a yellow.)
2. Cobalt blue with light red and raw sienna added to the castle.
3. Sea - same sky colour slightly stronger.
4. House - raw sienna, permanent magenta and light red- starting with a dark mix on the chimneys and softening as it comes down. This was continued down into the rocks with some veridian added to the raw sienna to give an acceptable green. Raw sienna added for the sand and the base colour for the Kern.
5. Cullernose Point was added behind the house using french ultra,brown madder and and raw sienna.
6. Rocks second wash cobalt and raw sienna to form the angle of the rocks and ultra and burnt sienna for the darks.
7. The Kern fracture lines were painted with a strong mixture of ultra and burnt sienna  then a wash of brown madder and raw umber flooded over the top. Timing is important too sooner the the lines disappear and too later and first wash appears to harsh. ( another tip from John Cartmel-Crossley ). Strong wash was added to the fracture lines and bedding planes when dry.
8. Strong foreground added with ultra, raw umber and brown madder.
9. Detail - Shadow on the house using a warm dark, windows, little detail on Cullernose showing the vertical lines in the basalt, little work on the grass and finally the seagulls
10. The painting was given to one painters at the end of the session after a raffle draw.