Ile de la Réunion wish we were there now.

Here is another painting from the Ile de la Réunion in the Indian Ocean, done atop the old volcanic mountain on the North side of the island. This seemed to be a cafe or restaurant, I was just walking around that day looking for a place to paint and came across the scene.What grabbed my attention was the contrast in yellows and greens, and of course the spectacular ocean view.

Painting water is tricky using watercolours, which is a constant source of irony to me. At Réunion I really worked on getting the brilliant colours of the water right- towards the horizon the colour is more purplish, and then near the coast it seems more emerald green or deep blue. The middle tends to be a deep ultramarine. The sparkling waves are down by quickly dragging the brush across sideways. The other feature of this work is the sun-drenched appearance. The sun is like lemon drops rained down on everything. The umbrella in the foreground is four layers of paint to create the prismatic effect of yellow and shadowed yellow. While you would not know this by looking at the painting, I knew when it was completed that the colours were nearly exactly correct compared to the actual scene. Especially the amazing coral-peach tone of the building.

6 x8 " cold press water colour. 2011