Here is another painting done on the beach in the Dominican Republic, this time portraying the reality of the situation (as opposed to the postcards that show a single couple on the beach with a horse or something). Thatch-roof umbrellas and blue reclining chairs are scattered across a beach while people walk by soaking up the sun and boats of all kinds (not to mention parachute riders and helicopters) streak across the water. The chair in the front right of the painting has a towel on it, left by some inconsiderate ass who is probably up at the lunch buffet for the next three hours. Painting a crowded scene like this definitely takes a bit of time, and in this case I chose a slightly larger size paper. Despite all the clutter in this painting I tried to arrange things in a pleasing composition, the umbrellas stretch across the top half of the work while the blue chairs occupy the middle part and the foreground. Also important, is to allow some open visual space in your composition to allow the viewers eyes to have 'access'. In this painting I left a wide section of beach open at the bottom of the painting, and you will notice that there is an unobstructed path that leads to the waterfront and up to the sky. Pay attention to where your eye moves when you look at the painting, and you may find that it prefers to move up and down this unobstructed visual corridor. Controlling where the viewers eye moves it the key to any good composition, the true master of this was Degas, the great French impressionist.
7x11", cold press, 2009
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