I was with my son on Tybee Island just east of Savannah, Georgia. We had our fishing rods and were walking along the pier when I looked down at the beach below. I noticed a group of girls sunning themselves. They were all facing towards the center. I thought it really made an interesting sight. I knew I wanted to paint that scene.
The first thing I did when I drew the figures was to have some of them go off the edges of the canvas. I have found that this technique makes the scene more interesting than if they all were completely shown.
Another thing I did was to portray different skin tones. Some were pretty tan, others were lily white. The sunlit parts of their bodies had highlights, while the other sides were in shadow. If you look at the girl on the bottom right side, you will see color from the green towel reflected on her leg.
Comments on On Tybee Island
Great figure drawing! This takes me to summer, a place I want to be!
This painting has a really fun feeling. I really like it. Michelle if you want the feeling of summer, you should move to California. 🙂
You really know how to paint the human form, with all of it’s shadows and highlights. I like the idea of not seeing every part of each subject. It makes your mind add in the rest of the picture. What a great painting technique! This painting is especially fun to look at when it’s winter here.
what a fun day at the beach!