Gentle Passage

Gentle Passage – Digital Abstract Painting of an Ocean Sunset.

This ocean sunset abstract painting, a pastel composition, began as a sudden inspiration to open a new canvas without planning or sketching. Soft blends of cream, pink, lavender, and blue formed a sunset sky and calm ocean, with a small blue sailboat added at the end to bring a sense of quiet movement. The process was invigorating, and the result soothing — the title, Gentle Passage, was immediately clear.

MEDIUM:

Digital Painting | STYLE: Painterly Realism | SIZE: 11 x 14 | ORIENTATION: Portrait | TOOLS: Procreate, 13″ iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro, Giclée Fine Art Archival paper and ink | AVAILABILITY: Prints available | CONTACT SHADOWMYST ART

ARTIST’S PROCESS:

Gentle Passage was painted in Procreate on a 13″ iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil Pro. As an unplanned experiment, the piece came together quickly with no predetermined plan. Beginning with a blank layer, a pastel watercolor wash established the first hues of cream, pink, blue, and lavender, building structure and depth. The sun — placed near the top of the canvas, meeting the ocean’s horizon — became the focal point, with a small sailboat silhouette added slightly left of it to suggest slow, steady movement.

CHALLENGE:

Because this piece was primarily unstructured from the beginning the only challenge was setting a strong but soft focal point. The setting sun became that focal point. It needed to be eye catching but not overpowering to the soft feel of the overall piece. A color / layer blend mode “add” process was used to illuminate the sun. A circle in yellow was created on a single layer above the existing pastel layers. The circle was filled with a solid pale yellow. A new layer set to “add” mode was placed above the sun layer and a Procreate soft airbrush set to 50% opacity was used to paint a glaze of medium yellow over the existing sun. Merging the two layers gave the sun a strong but soft illumination. Creating a layer above the completed sun pastel blue clouds were painted over the bottom portion of the sun integrating it into the full image.

SUBJECTS AND THEMES:

Abstract Art — Ocean Sunset — Sailboat Silhouette — Pastel Sky — Spontaneous Painting — Coastal Wall Art — CONTACT Shadowmyst Art for additional information