Rexhame Paint Out

A few friends and I agreed to meet early at Rexhame Beach in Marshfield and paint together.   I parked at the furthest end of the parking lot at 7AM and walked up the sandy crossover.   This pretty dune lined path was the only shady spot in sight.   It was going to heat up fast.  I set up at the high tide line looking south.   What a gorgeous scene!  The calm water was glistening with silver and pink.   There was a haze over the barely visible horizon.  At the water's edge, the sand was pinkish taupe; a wide silvery blue strip of rocks was next.  The stretch of beach closest to the snowfence was a warm buff color (Titanium Buff with a dot of cad red light).   The lifeguard lookout structure stood tall over everything. 


Easel Set Up at Rexhame Beach

I had brought a 14x18 inch canvas, and decided to include the wide expanse of water, beach houses, and the dunes.   I drew in my guidelines using everything that sat behind my canvas, what I refer to as my same-size method.  Specifically, I first took a large step backwards.   On the right edge of the canvas I marked where the top of the dunes and snowfence touched the canvas.   On the left edge of the canvas I marked where the horizon intersected the canvas.   I peeked behind the canvas from both the top and the bottom to determine the horizonal placement of the houses and lifeguard stand.  Once the guidelines were in and my composition set, I was free to apply the shimmery colors of the beautiful beach morning in front of me.

For this painting, I had brought along a Titanioum White inGamblin's new oil paint called "Fastmatte."   I described using this fast drying paint in a previous blog.   I really liked it for mixing my sky.   It allowed me to apply three layers within the two hours I painted without pulling off previous layers.   The same quick drying characteristic that allowed the triple sky layer had a minor drawback for the same reason.  With Fastmatte not only did the canvas dry quickly, but my brushes dried quickly as well - not a big problem, but something to remember for the next time.

As always,  I'll wait a few days, let it dry and come back with fresh eyes and make any adjustments or improvements.   If you have any suggestions, let me know!