LOCAL artist Julie Dunster demonstrated her technique in oil painting, in a seascape, to members of Newton St Cyres Art Club on June 30.

Julie started by listing the points to remember when painting: 

What is the inspiration for this painting?

Where’s the focal point?

What direction is the light coming from?

Where are the darkest darks and the lightest lights?

What are the most and least saturated colour notes?

Is the scene cool or warm?

Think about texture and edges.

She likes to paint en plein air, and admires the Spanish painter Sorolla, and the Russian impressionists.

She applied a thin yellow ochre wash to her board then rubbed it off, leaving a hint of colour.

Her palette had a warm and cool version of each primary colour. She then painted a general tone mix over most of the board, and using Ultramarine Blue painted lines and dots to roughly position things.

The darkest darks (the rocks in her seascape) were then put in before moving onto the light areas.

She considered each mark carefully, from the point of view of colour, tonal value, and shape, and varied her brushmarks, dabbing, flicking, rolling and floating the brushes. This helped to create dynamic movement in the waves. Her acute observation of subtle changes in colour and tone and her clever use of complementary colours created a light-filled area of sea and rocks which was both painterly and convincing. Her method is meticulous, with no random or unnecessary marks, and requires concentration and precision.

Jenny Hallam