Surf’s up

Surf’s up

In this short workshop I will show you how to create a Fun, Colourful Surf Babe Painting
We will be playing with layers of colour and pattern to create a wonderful tropical coloured background to draw our figure on.
Remember to keep everything fluid, confident and with lots of positive energy!

DESCRIPTION OF LESSONS

The Underpainting stage
I decided to do this painting vertically at the easel because it opens up new challenges and effects having to control the paint against gravity!. Feel free to do this stage horizontally if you prefer.
I start with each colour experimenting with drips, smears and runs. Move the paint over the surface in different ways.
Remember to allow each colour to dry thoroughly so not to muddy the colours.
Once i have done various layers of the hot pinks and orange colours I break it up with some vibrant turquoise using stencils. The relationship between the teal turquoise and the pinks and oranges is amazing!

The drawing stage
The main aspect of this stage is, to be aware of composition at all times. Try and create dynamic angles and poses in your work. Do not be afraid to play with position and perspective. You may not get everything right the first time, but embrace these lines as you move forward…
Just make sure you fit everything in, no chopped off feet or hands!
Make great dynamic shapes with both the surf board and the horizon position.

The painting stage
Start with painting in the figure, start with the highlights and work around the figure. Slowly build up loose and painterly layers of lights and darks using more Raw Sienna. Don’t block all the skin tones in fully, we still want to see all the colour and pattern underneath. So play with pressure and density of paint.
Next, start to paint in some of the areas around the figure, eg. The sea and the sky. But again decide how much of the pattern underneath you wish to block out. I leave the hair, swimsuit and surf board showing the underpainting.
Finish with small details like a red line across the horizon and ad any redefining lines etc as you wish.

MATERIALS

Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course.  However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.

A large sheet of heavyweight watercolour or mixed media paper- i used a 20×28 inch sheet of canvas paper. Taped to a drawing board.
Masking tape
Acrylic Paints
I use Pyrole Orange
Quinacridone Magenta
Quinacridone Nickle azo Gold
Green gold
Teal/turquoise any brand.
Titanium white
Raw sienna
Red (I use Naphol red but you could use Pyrole red)
Naples yellow green (Amsterdam)
Brayer,
Squeegee and/or old credit card
Water spray
Paper towels
Selection of stencils
Foam roller for stencils
Black sharpie china graph pencil (amazon)
1 inch flat edge brush
Palette