Irondale Beach

Irondale Beach is a beautiful little spot where Chimacum Creek runs into the bay. It is being remediated by various groups owing to contamination from a very old steel plant that was on the site. Friend Deanna, who is involved with the remediation, gave me a great tour of this unique place on a beautiful day in winter. I caught this magical light just before it disappeared over the hill for the day.

The painting is 18×36 on stretched canvas. The first step is my initial outline with oil paint, basically a drawing with a brush. I gridded this initially to make sure I had the proportion correct; I really wanted this piece to recede to the horizon in a convincing way. The second step is the underpainting, looking at value and composition. The third step shows some local color being introduced, and by the time this is done I see a composition flaw. Towards the right hand side of the canvas here you can see a structure on the horizon; this is the military base Indian Island. Unfortunately this is too far to the edge of the canvas. As the shadows all point this direction it has the effect of taking your eye off the edge of the canvas instead of having a contained motion within the picture plane. So I moved it. You can’t see it well in this photo, but there is still a faint structure on the horizon, moved in about 6 inches to the left. This keeps the motion more circular.

One of the many reasons to be a painter: you can move whatever you need to, including military bases, in the quest for good composition! Ah, power….

Happy New Year, and happy painting!
Dawn