Sea mist at Dawn around the Needles, Isle of Wight

 

                                Sea mist... detail...oil on canvas : Janet Driver

Seeing the sun shining through sea mist is incredibly beautiful, especially at dawn or sunset when so many subtle colours appear to hang suspended in the air, and patches of the rocks can be glimpsed glistening in sunlight yet hidden away from full view... mysterious shapes that change as you try to discern where the rocks actually stand, just beyond the hidden cliff-edge...

more of the same painting...

Wednesday

early morning mist : c. janet driver (oil on canvas )

Paintings People Were Intrigued By....

Lovely to see so many people at the Open Studio !

Having a wide variety of paintings, I am fascinated how people are attracted to completely different paintings...over the next few weeks I will show some of the paintings that really drew attention: 

Some were struck by the misty paintings: of the Needles & views inspired by walking along the old railway from Brightlingsea, or down along Alresford Creek..

 "Misty & Mystical..."
."Yes..."


then, rather different, this one was painted using experimental glazes...in fact the whole idea was entirely experimental... I love this blown glass decanter and thought it would look beautiful in candlelight ...but I was really surprised by the weird bearded shadow that reared up against the wall, reminding me of the song "Have some Madeira me'dear..." & finding two tipsy wine glasses from a glass blowing workshop, having fun moving the candle round until I discovered these fleeting effects of reflected light when the angle was just right...  
But with the room in total darkness except for one small candle, I could hardly see to paint !   So I found black paper & white chalk to make studies of the highlights...It was really exciting to see the paintings gradually emerging...and great fun thinking of the way it reflected the sense of humour in the song. ... one or two people really enjoyed this ...

The Needles, Isle of Wight

On holiday... the Needles

were often covered with misty clouds pouring down all around them. But now and then we caught glimpses, ...hints and guesses ...  

These oil paintings were completed at home, after making several sketches...

 I have also done a series of paintings as the light changed at dawn...the sunlight shines onto the white of the rocks , reflecting yellow, purples and blues as the sun rises through the mist. I will add these to another post one day...