Ballynahinch Sunset

Well, it took a long time in the making, but I've finally finished painting my Ballynahinch Sunset!

As you know, my first attempt wasn't entirely satisfactory. But I learned from my mistakes, and I am now happy to show the end result. It's still not perfect, but I'm not going to do another one. At this stage, I've had enough of that picture. Actually, I've already started work on the next project. But more about that later...


I'm very happy with the washes done with my Utrecht Squirrel brush. The paint was gliding onto the paper, creating a lovely smooth finish, with no blotches.


In terms of overall composition, the first attempt was actually nicer, with busy elements keeping the eye on the painting. This one is almost too smooth, and I find that the eye goes from the bottom left to the top right of the painting without stopping anywhere else - that's because the band of pale yellow in the diagonal attracts the eye, and there is nothing in these two corners to stop it. I could crop the picture to address that, but, for now, I'll leave well enough alone.

I've also included two details from the final product. Click on each picture to see it full size. I think the colours are glorious. Better than the actual painting!