Dynamic Seascapes by Judith Yates

• Introduction 6
• My inspiration 8
• Materials 14
• Colour 24
• Understanding the sea 32
• Mark-making 40
• Expression and dynamism 50
• Wild seascape - Step-by-step project 70
• Shimmering mist - Step-by-step project 84
• Composition 96
• Compositional basics 98
  • Point of view 100, Creating drama 104, Skies and light 110, Foreground: added elements 116, Texture, tricks and illusions 122
• Creating mood and atmosphere 128
  • Elements of atmosphere 128, Stormy raging seas 130, Misty, ethereal atmosphere 132, Calm, shimmering waters 134, Dreamy atmosphere 136, Brooding mystery 138, Dreamy nostalgia 140
• Afterword 142
• Index 144

Judith Yates has worked as a professional artist since graduating from a fine-art painting degree course. She sells her work both privately and through a number of art galleries. Running parallel to her artistic practice, she runs painting workshops from her home studio, and tutors on art holidays in the Dordogne, France. Judith also works with several art societies, holding workshops and demonstrating a range of painting processes. She works from her busy studio at home using an array of techniques and media to recreate the sensual pleasures of the landscape and atmosphere of the coast.

Social media gets a bad press. However, it was also responsible for the genesis of this book. The publishers of Leisure Painter and The Artist magazines put one of Judiths pictures on Twitter. I thought it looked interesting and decided to investigate further. It quickly became apparent that she is one of the best seascape artists Id seen for a long time, so I suggested that Search Press might like to talk to her. And here, a couple of years later, we are.

Water is one of the hardest subjects to paint. Its hardly ever static, has no real substance and no colour of its own, yet it presents in many different moods, almost all of them related to movement and surroundings. So, how do you represent that in a single image? Well, thats what the book is all about. The subtitle is how to paint seas and skies with drama and energy and it has that in spades.

Working in watercolour, acrylic, ink and mixed media, Judith will show you how to capture all the forms and moods of the sea, from a calm evening estuary to storm-blown waves breaking on a rocky shore. Although water is the primary subject, Judith does not forget the shorelines, landscapes and of course skies that make up a complete seascape. Shell show you how light both affects the appearance of water and is affected by it through refraction and reflection. Shell also demonstrate ways of capturing the solid appearance of a breaking wave and how to create the sense of power and movement that are essential to giving your image a feeling of being anything but static and two-dimensional.

There are plenty of examples, exercises and demonstrations as well as explanations of the way water behaves in just about every situation. The book is every bit as exciting as its subject.

Crafts Beautiful

Lose yourself in the excitement and power of seascapes with Judith Yates' latest release Dynamic Seascapes. With sections on colour, composition, and creating atmosphere, this book is a comprehensive approach to painting the tumultuous ocean with a mix of acrylics, watercolour and acrylic inks. Judith uses a mix of traditional and more experimental techniques, and this combined with her mixed media approach means this is perfect for anyone looking to expand their creative horizons.