Friday 15 November 2013

Captain Ratbeard

Captain Ratbeard
Watercolour & Gouache
24 x 31cm

Ahoy m'hearties! Shiver m'timbers and host the main sail (blimey I don't I'll keep this pirate talk going), if it isn't Captain Ratbeard and his pi-rat-ical crew (get it?). I nearly had as much fun painting the Captain as writing this blog post. Here is one of those few examples of when the finished piece is very similar to the fleeting image I had in my mind's eye.

The sea spray was achieved by flicking masking fluid with a toothbrush and a lot of the glossy highlights were with prussian blue and white gouache. I struggled with the wet deck but by studying lots of Wyeth and Howard Pyle pirate paintings I eventually found a simple way of suggesting a thin layer of water. 

2 comments:

Angelsdoor * Penny said...

Your work just takes my breath away, Chris. Love this piece!

Unknown said...

The water effect is great, you made it look and sound simple...bet it wasn't!