Untitled Island

A couple of years ago, I created a small painting, entitled, "Rain, Rocks and Ripples".  I thought I'd like to re-create it as a larger version, so I've been working on it at the Right Side Gallery in Penetanguishene, Ontario.



This version is about 81/2" x 21" in size.  I'm working from several photos taken in the Alexander Islands group near Twelve-Mile Bay in Georgian Bay.  These islands have very little ground cover, being constantly scoured by ice and wind.  Many of the rocks in this little pool have been deposited there by the massive chunks of ice that build up along the shores of the islands over the winter, breaking up the stones and moving them around.  Others have been left behind by glacial action millennia ago.

The photos were mostly taken in the same location, except for the foreground one, making it different from "Rain, Rocks and Ripples", which didn't have this addition.  As you can see below, I haven't yet completed the foreground or the droplets of water as they hit the surface of the pool.

Below are some of the reference photos I used.  I've taken liberties with some of the details, enhancing some and diminishing others.  I've also exaggerated some of the colouring, and added the water droplets hitting the pool.

I'm toying with the idea of having a bird, possibly an osprey, flying in from the right side, about the middle distance, but that would require switching to acrylic, as the dark areas of watercolour would be difficult to lift off sufficiently to allow the addition of another visual element.  I wish I'd thought of it sooner.