E-Day + 13 - Fanore Beach - Life on Mars

No work today. It's Sunday.

Here is my latest watercolour, completed over just a few days. It's inspired by a photo of Fanore beach, in County Clare.

I worked on watercolour paper dampened with a sponge. I started with the sky, dropping ultramarine, burnt sienna, yellow ochre and alizarin crimson to achieve the dramatic thundery effect.

The stones were done by layering turquoise and ultramarine until I got the tone I wanted. They were done on dry paper to achieve a sharp effect.

On the other hand, the sand was painted on damp paper again, with yellow ochre and alizarin crimson. When that was dry, I used the sieve and toothbrush to spray paint the same colours over the background, adding a mix of turquoise and ultramarine for the darker spots. It's a bit redder than I would have liked, hence the title "Life on Mars"

The waves were painted last, with white gouache over a turquoise and Payne's grey sea.

I like the surreal effect of the whole thing. I might have another go, and try another, more realistic, version.