Considering water

I find something hynotic about the rush of ocean waves over rocks and there is no shortage of either in my neck of the woods.

This watercolour is of the surf at Pouch Cove. There is no beach there, just jagged rocks that reach out under the sea and appear with the ebb and flow of tides and waves. There is nothing smooth in this cove. History and 'stories' say that it was one of the original settlements in Newfoundland. All the summer fishers from England were to return with their bounty at the end of the summer. It was against the law to stay here. Some rebellious souls decided to chance their luck and chose Pouch Cove because of its inaccessible harbour, making it seem an unlikely place to look should the authorities come searching for the rebels.

I have found that I have learned a lot from my time spent simply watching the movement of waves against the shore and over rocks. When I initially started recording water, it seemed like a daunting task to know where to begin. Watching the repetitive motion and knowing how water reacts and moves over different surfaces; how it reflects the light, the colours of the sea that changes around rocks, the foam that changes colour depending on the weather - there are so many things to see in the water that you don't really consider until you begin to paint.

I still have much to learn about water and how to draw and paint it well. Each image that I create brings me one step closer to satisfaction.

Wave WIP - update

I've added more layers to the water, but its still not doing quite what I want yet. I have a broader base of colours now in the water and rocks and have blocked in the water behind the wave. However, I want the water behind to read flatter and calmer and its not that right now.


The close ups here show more of the detail of the development of the rocks and the water moving over them, leaving pools and rivulets in its wake.

The crest of the wave and the foam on top of it is basic and will be refined more, modeling the form of the wave as I progress.

Waves in progress

Last weekend I drove to Pouch Cove and Bauline and watched the waves and whales off the coast, took some photos and came away inspired. Inspiration had to wait til this weekend to take form however, so is the fate of artists who have to work a day job too.

Last night I started a large (20 x 30) oil painting of one of waves breaking over the rocks in Pouch Cove. The movement is very hypnotic and the colours in the water are wonderful in terms of light and shape.

So far I have blocked in colour and am now starting to develop some shading to the water, rocks and the wave itself. I want a more impressionistic image than pure realism. I want to show the strength of the ocean and the gentle colours without it becoming a chocolate box lid, as so many seascapes are and what it looks like at this stage of the painting.

There is no sky in this piece, it will be all water which brings its own set of challenges. Waterscapes are so complex with lighting changing constantly on the surface and in the movement of a wave as it crests. Watching that movement and light over and over helps me know the anatomy of a wave and understand how the shape is formed and how the light shines through the thinner sections of the wall of water.

I'm lucky to have the ocean on my doorstep as a constant model to refer to.

The 'aha' moment

Cliff edge, Pouch Cove
8 x 8 oils

You know how you struggle to do something for ages then suddenly the light goes on in your head and it becomes clear as to what you were doing wrong? This is the painting that did that for me.

I have been re-learning oils for probably the last six months. My strokes have been timid and I have been stingy with paint. This painting, of a cliff edge in Pouch Cove was started purely as a relaxation piece and a study in rocks, but seemed to flow. The water, the colours, the thickness of paint seemed to come together and point me in the right direction.

Maybe it was the fact that I didn't have a goal with this piece or a deadline that relaxed me enough toe xperiment and be bolder. I know I will never change my style, which does tend to be more subdued rather than bold, but I like to think that I can enhance it and push it to become more refined and natural.

Now can I do it large scale? Small is safe and easy, more or less. I want to have the same impact of water and land but on a large scale. I guess there's only one way to find out, isn't there?

The Water Witch

Horrid Gulch

8 x 5 coloured pencil

I sketched this image of Horrid Gulch in Pouch Cove a couple of years ago. Its a cropped view from the top of a steep cliff overlooking the jagged rocks and sea some hundreds of feet below. I always find it a bit creepy going there. Not because of its history, but because I don't do heights well and hate being anywhere near the edge of a cliff. This is why I didn't do a sketch looking down over the cliff. Winter provides weather restrictions here in terms of accessing places and I know I won't be able to create some of the pieces that I want until spring or summer. The historical aspect of Newfoundland's association with the sea interests me and capturing moments of that history in art will be very satisfying.

Horrid Gulch was where the Water Witch went aground on November 25, 1875 in a storm with 25 people on board, Alfred Moores, a resident, performed a daring rescue which saved 11 people. He allowed himself to be lowered to the ship by a rope from an overhanging cliff so that he could carry the people to safety.

All true-born Newfoundlanders pray hearken unto me,
And hear your messmates tell you all the dangers of the sea;
You all remember Pouch Cove well, and the true sons so brave
Who saved the crew of the Water Witch so near a watery grave.

Some of the words and dates in this song are a little skewed, but the event is clear and true. The descendents of these rescuers still live in this small seaside town of Pouch Cove, where I once lived. The plaque commemorating their bravery stands near a section of the East Coast Trail and leads to the cliffs that overlook Horrid Gulch.

This map from Google Earth shows the gulch and cliffs along the ocean where the Water Witch came to rest. When the weather improves and snow goes so I can access the trail again, I will go there and take some more photos and do some sketching and painting. The view is wonderful from this point, looking out as far as the eye can see to the horizon, with whales below and a strong breeze blowing.


Excerpt from the Newfoundland Express December 3, 1875

Loss the the Schrs. "Hopewell and Waterwitch" and nineteen lives

Two most distressing marine disasters, involving the loss of nineteen lives, with long make memorable the storm of last Monday night. The early part of the evening was moderate enough and about four o'clock a craft called the Hopewell left here for Harbor main with eight souls on board and a quantity of provisions, Towards dark a gale sprung up with heavy snow-drift, and at eight o'clock it was at height of its fury. The Hopewell ran on Biscan Rock, near Cape St. Francis, and in a very short time was broken up, all on board but one man going down to a watery grave. The survivor, named WAUGH, got on to a rock and there he remained all night and a great part of next day. When the Hercules neared the spot, on her round to Conception Bay , about noon on Tuesday, this poor fellow was s een waving a handkerchief; and Capt. BLANDFORD, of the Hercules, promptly manned a boat and sent her with a strong crew to effect his rescue. The waves ran so high at the time that they could not get near enough to throw a line within WAUGH's hold, and a second and third attempt were made before they succeeded in reaching him with a rope and life-preserver. After three hours spent in the utmost endeavors for his safety, WAUGH was pulled off on board the Hercules in most exhausted condition, but at all events, saved by the heroic efforts of Capt. BLANDFORD and his crew.

The Waterwitch which left here for Cupids, soon after the Hopewell , struck in the neighborhood, of Cape St. Francis also, much about the same time. There were twenty-five persons on board, and of these twelve, eight men and four women, went down with the vessel. The following letter from Rev. Mr. Johnson, Church of England Minister at Pouch Cove, shows how the survivors of the Waterwitch escaped and no praise can exceed the merits of the Pouch Cove people in the saving of these poor creatures and the care and tenderness with which they succored them. (See same letter under date of Dec 3, 1875).