Shallow Moorings

I just completed another small watercolour of boats in Aberdour Harbour. These particular yachts are moored in very shallow water. I haven't included the shore, but in reality it was just a couple of feet to the right. The water there turned from bright blue to dullish green in colour, maybe because of sand or weeds under the surface. A fourth and final painting from the harbour will appear shortly (or it will when I figure out what it's going to be)!

Bright Morning

Like the last painting I posted, this painting is an Aberdour scene showing a line of yachts moored in the harbour. The wooded headland in the background is called Hawkcraig Point. There's an old hotel out there with a couple of houses, plus the rickety remains of a wooden jetty that hasn't been used for many years. On a summer morning, the sunlight was flashing off the water in a thousand places. I really enjoy this sort of scene.

Still Water

I saw this painting in terms of contrasts: light tones and dark tones, bright colours and dull colours, smooth texture and rough texture. From that point of view the grey, stained and dilapidated side of the harbour was just as important as the placid water reflecting evening light.

I was just thinking to myself that in years gone by, I had a tendency to overdo the darkest tones in a painting - basically, to make them all a flat, uniform black which never looked right. Now I know better, I suppose, and I make a point of getting some variety into the darks. At least I've learned something!

The scene, by the way, is the inner harbour at Dysart, on Scotland's East Coast. There's always a lot there to catch an artist's attention.

Boats On An Old Stone Pier

At Aberdour, just a few miles from where I live, there's a small harbour mostly used by yachtsmen these days. As winter approaches some of the boats are lifted out for storage on the stone pier. My painting shows them lined up along the pier on a peaceful, cloudless evening, with a golden light in the sky. The water was quite still and reflected the colours in the sky.

Five Boats

Wandering around a quiet local harbour, I saw these dinghies tied up to a landing stage. The bright sunshine that day created strong shadows and the water was still and as dark as ink. Looking at the scene from an artist's point of view, the main thing I noticed was the rhythmic pattern set up by the boats. Then there was the range of colours, made up equally between cool blues on one hand and warm beiges, oranges and browns on the other.

I'll be honest - not long after I started this painting, I kind of lost my way and thought it wasn't going to work, so I stopped. It had something to do with the look of the water, which I hadn't got quite right. Three weeks later, I took a fresh look at the painting and realised it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. So I restarted it, deepened and darkened the blue water, and took it to completion. I feel satisfied with it now. It just goes to show, you shouldn't abandon a painting too soon. Give it (and yourself) a rest, come back to it later, and maybe have another go at it.