Painting En Plein Air in the Costa Brava, Spain

I was up early each morning during my recent trip to Spain so that I could paint down at the little fisherman’s port as the sun rose. It was so peaceful there and I loved that the fishermen would say “Hola” as they passed on their way to their boats and I would watch them sail out to sea. It was usually still dark when I set up my easel and then the light would gradually peek through until suddenly there was a burst of red as the sun popped over the horizon. Of course the sunrise is always swift and mostly I would just grab some quick photos as reference to use later in the studio, but my studies made en plein air will be helpful later too

I would sketch out the initial composition using a thin mix of burnt sienna and solvent and then quickly block in the main colours. I loved this row of boats backlit by the sun as it rose over the horizon. I managed to get the main colours down but I’ll have to add more of a “pop” of sun in later renditions. I’m pleased with the subtle palette with a contrast of warm and cool colours and hope to exaggerate these when I scale up the works.

My favourite paint out was on the last day when I decided after a few days of painting boats to paint the view from the headland instead. Again, I woke early and was up there in the dark setting up so I was ready when the sun burst over the horizon. It was so beautiful up there, I just loved it

I enjoyed painting here so much I’ve decided I might run a week’s painting retreat here next year in September 2027. If interested, ping me a message for details.