Jack and His Sailboat

This painting was done on a lab retreat several years back, up around Mt. Tremblant north of Montreal. My whole lab was there swimming in the water, you can see one of the students paddling a surf board with his beers. In the distance there is a sail boat, my boss was sailing it with the father of the host. Even farther in the distance is a small yellow speck which represents the paddleboat with two other students. I also took the boat out after the painting was done, and actually tipped it over a few times. Ooops. The treeline in the background was done using a wet in wet technique. First I paint the sky, and while it is still wet I put in the green of the trees, which blends into the sky. In actual act the tree line looked sharper, but when you try to paint a sharp edged treeline it often comes out looking fake. By using the wet-wet technique the trees kind of blend into the background and give a better sense of depth. I also keep the detail pretty minimal on the distant trees, which also helps create a sense of depth, and allows the viewer to focus more on the main subject, the people. One small note on composition: the chair in the foreground was a huge risk as it actually dominates the painting (in terms of area), however in this case it works well because it really enhances the sense of depth, and also creates interesting shapes that break up an otherwise monotonous composition. 

Jack and His Sailboat, watercolour 10 x 11" cold press, 2006 (No. 1121)