Ah, holiday. My in-laws-to-be were kind enough to bring Erin and I along with them to Jamaica. Beach vacation means 10″X10″ beach paintings.
We stayed at the Gran Bahia Principe, in Runaway Bay. It is a practically brand new resort.
We left the resort for a visit to the Appleton Rum plant, as well as a trip to Dunn River Falls.
But my painting took place on the resort. After the jump, the results of a tropical color palette.
Nothing sets the tone like a palm tree painting.
Starting with magenta. That’s right, magenta.
Starting with some prussian blue action… a shade of blue invented by Jeremy Penn.
Some cadmium orange flooding all of the future blues on the canvas.
Oh baby… cerulean blue against cadmium orange sure does reverberate.
Getting nice with it on the green spot.
Dropping the beach and the rocks.
Finished with some accenting purples, both heavy and light.
If you have been to Jamaica for more than 24 hours, the odds are you have been to Dunn River Falls. On a family cruise back in 2001, we made the climb.
This time, I sat on the beach and did a quick sketch of the house beyond the falls… which I believe used to belong to Eddie Murphy.
Love me a rotunda… some colorful Jamaican shops.
A lime green under-drawing.
Clarifying the composition with cadmium orange. The new palette is always a challenge, but a welcome one just the same.
Violet, laying out planes.
Some new greens, as well as some deep magenta action.
Adding some reflective purple/pink.
I’ve got the blues.
Ah… starting to feel sandy.
Pushing the trees in the background further.
Taking into consideration where the sun is hitting each roof.
Finished. A lot of complementary push and pull.
A turret at the resort… which reminds me of the Citgo sign.
Starting with a flat, ugly finger painting.
Slapping in the details quickly.
Several tones of mixed light/brown to nail down the planes. This entire painting was painted wet, so it was all about the gesture vs. accurate representation.
Here comes the re-leaf. Har.
And there it is… doesn’t it sort of feel like the Citgo sign?
My final painting… I was in the mood to vary up the marks, go impasto.
Starting with some heavy outlines.
Finger painting the sky.
Heavily applying the paint in the hills.
Splashing purple tones throughout the picture.
Oh, here comes the beach and some water reflections.
Splashing the sea here and there.
And finishing with some dense outlines.
Here’s to a wonderful trip, thank you Tom and Jeanne!
A little different from your usual work JB, loving it! Hope you had a nice break!
Thanks David… I use this type of painting to experiment with different colors, styles and compositions… that’s what vacation is for after all, no? Good to hear from you.
fantastic work my friend! makes me want to travel and bring my canvas and paints =)
That is one tolerant fiance. Eddie Murphy is the great grandchild of William Murphy.
That is one cool painting vacation. Motivated.
Love them all…… Like your process and use of colour…
))))
Colour is such a physical thrill for me…
I want to go back !! What terrific time !!
Thanks for the painting of the shops. It looks great in our family/dining area. It has a place of honor on a decorative easel on one of the counters and really brightens-up the place. Everytime I look at it I remember what a wonderful time we had.
Looking forward to seeing you again, soon.
Tom
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[...] the cobblestones I decided to take a similar approach to my Jamaica and Milan paintings… impasto paint strokes were the best way to indicate the undulating, [...]
[...] family took us for an incredible trip to Jamaica, Runaway Bay… this is one of four 10″X10″ canvases I painted there. Mmmm… jerk [...]
[...] Grand, Woolworth Building, Elaine’s, Chrysler Building, Hancock Tower (Chicago), Runaway Bay (Jamaica) and San Marco Cathedral(Milan). His architectural impressionist collage paintings have [...]
Hi Borbay. I loved to see your painting process. I am heading to Negril, Jamaica on Monday, November 26. I am going to be painting for 26 days straight! I was wondering if you had difficulty getting your paintings through customs? I am bringing 50 copper panels with me. I paint with oils on copper!
Hi Renee, thank you for getting in touch… I’ll send you an email about this.