This is considered a seascape according to the type of painting it is. However, this is actually a lake painting. It is a painting of a lake in North Alabama called "Cedar Lake". I was inspired to paint this painting from a photo sent by email to me from a friend who fish on this lake. It is a very beautiful place. As you can see it was taken at sunset. I altered the painting from the original photo reference to have a reflection of sunlight that is more exaggerated. I wanted to capture the ripples of the waves in the lake and used the sunlight as a point of emphasis or focal point in the composition. Also it is a painting in an abstract color scheme from reality.
I started with a value sketch from my sketch journal. I only used 5 values of gray to accomplish the sketch. I used a mechanical no.2 pencil in graphite.
Next, I toned the paper with a brown or burnt sienna color. I diluted color or paint with water to achieve a lighter value and used less water in the color to get darker values. I used a large flat brush to tone the surface evenly all over to get the lightest value. Then I used a smaller flat to draw and block in the darker values.
I used the color green blue yellow and white to premix the colors. I use a glass palette because it cleans better when I finish painting sessions. I use a rounded end metal palette knife to mix the hues or original colors. I add blue to darken the greens and I use white to tint or lighten the colors.
Here is the finished painting very small in size 4x4 done in acrylic of Cedar Lake
