Painting process | Seaside Taverna, Last Light in Vathy
On an evening walk along the harbour in Vathy, Greece, I encountered this idyllic scene. It was early autumn and the sun was just about to disappear behind the mountains, giving the air a golden glow. The taverna was just setting up for dinner, the fishing boats were anchored for the night and a mother and son were playing by the water’s edge.
I wanted this painting to feel soft, serene and intimate. It’s all about that beautiful light.
Preliminary sketches and studies
I started with a rough sketch, working out where the lightest and darkest parts of the painting are.
I liked how the angle of the gum tree mirrors that of the path to frame the scene.
Next, I painted two tiny sketches to get a feel for the big colour choices. These are super messy, but useful to see the overall impression of the idea.
To enhance the cosy intimate feeling, I decided to frame the scene quite tightly with the path and the surrounding trees trunks and leaves as if these elements are providing protection from the outside world.
The painting process
I started with a pale warm blue underpainting. This felt like a calm, unifying choice.
I was so busy with my painting that I forgot to take a photo of the drawing! But I remembered just in time so you can see some of the drawing here.
Here is the first layer complete.
I worked very slowly on the first layer so that I got each element very close to how I wanted the final painting to look. I didn’t make any drastic changes after this very first stage, which is unusual for me.
Next I refined the texture and colours of the foreground path and rock wall. I brought in warmer greys to pull it visually forward. I also added variation and texture to the edges to make it look convincingly like bitumen and rock.
I then worked on the chairs, refining how they overlap and deepening the shadows to give them structure. I love the shape of their cast shadows on the tables.
I added peachy highlights and dark red-brown shadows to the figures to refine their shape and define how the light hits them. I also lightened the water behind them to increase the contrast and the sense of the direction of the light.
I left the tree’s leaves loose and gestural to provide movement and also so that detail doesn’t draw focus away from the scene below.
Finished!
“Seaside Taverna, Last Light in Vathy”
50 x 60 cm, oil on linen.
I adored painting this one. It was one of those paintings that felt so natural to put onto canvas. I hope you can feel that in my colour choices.
Details
Here’s a close-up of the kid and his mum playing by the water. I used some bright yellows and oranges for the highlights on their hair and clothes.
I roughly indicated the shape of the distant boats, rocks and jetty because they’re not important to the scene and wanted them to melt into the background. I wanted to keep the painting uncluttered to maintain the peaceful atmosphere I was aiming for.
Here’s a close-up of some of the chairs I painted, with their fun bright-blue shadows. Chairs are surprisingly tricky to draw and get the perspective right but I had fun with these.
I love that Australian eucalyptus trees are found everywhere in Greece. Their waxy leaves catch the Greek light so beautifully, they almost glow. And their white bark reflect an array of blues, pinks and golden yellow highlights.
I was careful to leave this tree as one layer of paint, with just a few touch-ups to its edges. I think it gives it a fresh, lively feeling that I’d like to emulate in my future paintings.
