Sun Sparkles

Because the sun is setting the water is duller than if it were the middle of a sunshiny day. The addition of MUD (Ultramarine Blue + Alizarin Crimson) into all of my paint mixtures for the water dulls them. The water in the distance is painted with Ultramarine Blue + MUD + White. Coming closer to the viewer the water is made with a mix of Ultramarine Blue + a tiny bit of MUD + White. More of the cloud color is worked into this area to indicate their reflections. The color of the closest water is influenced by the blue sky directly overhead. It is brighter and more intense so I use a mixture of Pthalo Blue + a touch of MUD + White. The rocks are mixes of MUD + Cadmium Orange + White. Painting them darker and warmer than those in the distance makes them come forward.

Now for the sun sparkles dancing on the Mediterranean. I saved all of the paint leftover from the sky.  The darker hue from the warm sky is used for the reflections of the sun farthest away. Moving closer to the foreground the color of the reflection becomes increasingly lighter. The brightest reflections are saved for the area near the base of the rocks.

The deeper blues from the water and the darker cloud colors are used to block in the shadows of the buildings cascading down the hill in the background. The lighter areas are made of these colors mixed with White.

It just wouldn’t seem like Santorini without windmills so Joan and I decided to place one on the far hillside. And the steps, have to have those. There are steps, steps and more steps on this picturesque Greek Island. My main goal is to render this area impressionistically so it will drop back, a lot of detail here would attract too much attention. The highlights on the distant structures are made of White with a little Ultramarine Blue added for coolness, making them recede. The purest White will be reserved for the sunlit portions of the wall in the foreground. Thanks for dropping by the studio today. Please come back soon. Hugs, Mikki Senkarik

If you would like to receive an email every time I publish a new post please feel free to subscribe to my blog. CLICK THIS LINK and scroll to the upper right side of the page. You will see a heading EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS. Just enter your email address and click the button “Sign me up!”  It’s easy. And if you enjoy my blog please CLICK the FaceBook LIKE Button. As we say in Texas, “Much Obliged!”