Back in March (2024) I sat in my studio staring at a blank canvas wondering what I will paint next. I just sat, and sat and sat staring at the canvas. Here I was, once again experiencing "creative block" and stymied as to what to do.
With my first art festival just 3 months away, I had to kick start creating pieces so I would have enough pieces for the show. Frustrated with the lack of making a decision, I decided to go do some chores and come back awhile later to try again. 9 days this cycle repeated itself, as the clock ticked down to the festival in June.
The problem wasn't really creating a painting. Landscape was always coming to the top of mind - but what type of landscape should I create - a seascape? a cityscape? a traditional landscape with mountains, a lake and trees?
I knew deep down that I really wanted to do a seascape. As much as I loved the idea of painting the coastline, I didn't think my skill was good enough to create something breathtaking - because nothing short of breathtaking was needed to capture North Point. I had just returned from a vacation in Barbados so the memory of the crashing waves and taste of sea salt was still fresh on my mind - I could picture how the painting would look like when I finished but didn't know how to get there. There had to be movement and danger but still convey a sense of tranquility - and then there was the matter of painting water and rocks - not a skill that I had mastered yet.
As I sat there, on the 10th day, looking once again at the blank canvas (I was getting tired of hearing me tell myself that I couldn't paint water and rocks) something clicked. I sat up straighter and said out loud - "F-ck it! It is only paint and canvas - what is the worse that would happen- I could waste another fine piece of canvas and 2 weeks of my time." I gave myself a quick pep talk to stop the pity party and get painting.
It was at this moment that I started to plan out how I could produce some resemblance of the coastline. I decided to look at my vacation photos and then watch some videos on how to paint a seascape. I studied the photos and compared them to videos I had just watched. I started to see shapes and values that I had not seen before - a slow simmering fire started to grow in my belly and I got more and more determined to continue.
I started with a sketched seascape and identified where shadows and light existed. Once I was happy with the sketch, I applied an undertone to help me with values later on. I applied my dark values first, which were mostly around the rock face, then mid-tones in the water and sky and saved my lightest light for the detail stage. I was deliberate when I applied my brush strokes and mixing paint colors. Slowly, I started to see the seascape start to take shape.
3 days later when I walked back into my studio and saw the seascape on my easel I just stood there in awe. Who created this - it wasn't me - but it really truly was. I just stood there and stared at a fully covered canvas that represented North Point in Barbados.
I must have stood in place for well over an hour. I let my eyes slowly roam over the piece from across the sky down towards the ocean and the waves hitting the rocks. I was looking for something - anything - that didn't "look right" and as hard as I tried I couldn't find anything wrong. It was perfect. Deep down I knew that given time, and more practice I would be critical of what I was looking at, but at that moment, it was perfect and I did it all on my own - my very first seascape. I was walking on air.
I had weathered the challenge and was not beaten. I rose up and tackled it head on. When I felt it was getting difficult, I remembered the proverb - "How do you eat an elephant - one bite at a time." and that is how I moved forward. One brush stroke at a time until it was complete.
People ask me which of my paintings is my favourite - well this one is in my top 5. Sorry folks - you have to wait for another blog or two to find out which one is my fav. I hope you enjoy this piece as much as I did creating it.
It is currently hanging in a local gallery at the Shenkman Art Centre (July-September) and it is available to be purchased.
Thank you.
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