What is it about the beach that is so appealing to the watercolour painter? Space, light, simplicity… and the long wide view. If you want to practice painting figures, the beach is one of the best locations, as there is little to block the view and the shapes made by people walking or crouching are enhanced by being relaxed, lightly dressed, ruffled by breezes and set against the uncluttered background of sea, sand or sky. If the figures are backlit, paint the setting/background first as the figures will be darker than the pale beach and can be safely painted on top of the background. If the figures are lit from the side, paint the figures first, leaving untouched white paper on the lit side, then paint the background up to and around the lit side leaving slices of white paper to represent the light. If the colour on the shaded side is not likely to bleed, carry the background wash partially across the shaded side to maintain the relative tone. If you paint on the beach on a windy day, beware! If sand gets into your paint palette it takes a long time to remove it from the pans and will annoy you for days afterward! Keep your palette off the ground or surrounded by a large towel, or maybe take tubes of watercolour and a spare washable palette instead. And you do not want salt to get into your pan colours either, so do not be tempted to use sea water if you run out of your water supply!! Have fun!
