Sunset in Kerry

I painted two versions of the same view this weekend. I'm a bit tired tonight so I'm actually not 100% sure what colours I used, but I think it's mostly Quinacridone Magenta, Ultramarine, Nickel Azo Yellow, and some Green Apatite Genuine for the foreground. I might have used a touch of Cobalt Blue for the sky too. But really, I'm not sure. I should have written it down, as I quite like how the colours turned out, except for my clouds, which turned out heavier than I had planned. But it always takes a little while to get back into painting after a few weeks of sketching only!

They are both the same view, from a photo Deb took while I was driving I think! The sun was close to setting and the mountain range in the distance was stunning. I love our long evenings in the summer. It's late-August now and the light is fading, though.

I painted the two versions together, learning from one to the other, and letting layers dry in between.

So, I did the wash for the sky and the sea for this one first, but didn't wait long enough for the paint to dry before I did the clouds, so there's this very soft effect which dulled the band of sunshine behind the mountains. But then, after it was fully dry, I came back and added a delicate blue (probably a bit of Cobalt blue and a touch of Quin Magenta) and kept the clouds quite abstract. And for the foreground, which is the very last thing I did, I used a very calligraphic brush and kept my mixes very loose, which I like a lot. The mountains are a bit flat, though. But the water is a lovely silvery colour!

For this one, which I started second, I got a much brighter sunlight behind the mountains, and my mountains are more majestic.  I also got some nice colour mixes in the rocks to the left and the grasses at the front, which I pulled with an old credit card. But I painted my clouds too dark and muddy.  I should really paint a third version where I apply what I learned from these two. I've got lots of other ideas for paintings though, so it might have to wait.