Cayton Bay

Changing Light.
I've been out painting a few times since we broke up for the summer, with mixed results.  I abandoned one the other day after about an hour of painting. It was a picture of a boat on the river above Linton Lock. I hadn't given it enough thought, rushed it, and started with more drawing than I would usually do. Normally I would block in masses, which helps me to avoid outlines,  handle edges, and helping make the picture look less 'wooden'. I don't like outlines. I probably drew on this occasion because boats are tricky shapes, with odd perspective. I would have been better off roughing it out and keeping things looser. I didn't give it enough thought. 

I rarely abandon paintings.

Others recent paintings have been more successful, to differing degrees, including this one done at Cayton Bay near Scarborough.
I approached the scene in my usual way, and slowed down the painting, working from dark to light. The beach was quite quiet, which is always good, and the light was changeable, which is always a challenge.
Here it is..

 The view.

 Starting with a neutral grey ground, I blocked in the main shapes.

 ...and then started to add colour.

 ...slowly building it up.

 A quick comparison. You can see how much the sun had moved by this point.

 ..adding the sky and building up the details.

 Standing back.

 The finished painting.

Cayton Bay.