wilko Garden Coastal Cliff Colour, Long-lasting Exterior Paint, Outdoor Paint for Stone, Brick, Wood and Terracotta, 5L

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The French artist made another trip to England in 1899-1900, in his mature years. And although Monet’s visit to the British Islands will always be remembered for the spectacular and famous views of the Houses of Parliament in London, his first stay is a turning point in the biography of the French painter due to the very important influence of Turner in his artistic oeuvre. Claude Monet: “Mill near Zaandam” (1871) – Private collection For the cloud highlights I apply lighter tone to create that 3D effects and I’ve opted for dramatic clouds in this painting, I like the edginess and drama it creates in a painting.

I usually try to fit in a holiday and a couple of short breaks in the UK every year to re-charge my batteries and gather new material for paintings. One of my favourite locations is the Lake District, which provides endless material and challenges for the landscape artist, all in a relatively compact and accessible area. I particularly enjoy the challenge of painting low cloud and mist on distant hills – a subject that lends itself perfectly to watercolour. I am often asked the best way to capture this effect convincingly.The whole coastline of Kemmuna and its adjacent islets is of considerable geomorphological value in view of the uniquely rich concentration of marine erosional features in various stages of formation that they display. In addition, both islands were, until recently, spared from the environmental pressures to which Malta and Gozo had been subjected and therefore still support a relatively rich ecology and a relatively unspoilt coast which also harbours some distinct features. Alcoholic and impulsive, Jongkind impressed the young Monet with the effects of light and atmosphere in his seascape paintings. The influence of the Dutch painter is clearly perceivable in works like “Pointe de la Hève at Sainte-Adresse” (1864, Currier Museum of Art), with its careful and strongly horizontal representation of the sky and the atmosphere. This painting was admitted in the Salon of 1865. Note the realism of the work and the use of very definite brushstrokes, which Monet later changed in works such as “Rough sea at Etretat” (1868, Paris, Musée d’Orsay) I finish up the painting by adding my highlights and final details at the end of the painting. I make refinements to the clouds adding a bit more highlight and I add highlight using my lightest tones to the white water around the base of the cliffs. For this I am using titanium white with a little yellow oxide. I also add foam to some of the waves in the distant to make it look like there is a swell in the sea. The key to this method is to keep introducing clean water as you paint the hills, aiming for that “now you see it, now you don’t” effect, giving the impression that you are glimpsing the hills through a moving veil of mist or low cloud.Ôªø

Difficulty –Easy | Distance– 2 kilometres (1.25 miles) | Time– 30 minutes | Our Tip– This walk can get very busy, try to be there early or late to avoid the crowds. I explain how to paint the cliffs and how to make the foliage on the cliffs recede in the distant landforms. I show you how to paint the sea and simplify the complexities of the moving water in a manner that still gives the appearance of a realistic ocean. I explain how to get the tonality of the painting correct, show you how to mix a few colours and much more. Next I paint the foliage and grass in the mid ground cliffs using a combination of ultramarine blue, cadmium yellow, cadmium orange, yellow oxide. The yellow oxide and cadmium orange helps to earth the greens and make them look more nature, it also reduces the chroma a little.

Geoff Kersey shows you how to simply and effectively capture unusual light conditions and awkward shapes with watercolours

It’s always a good idea to look for slightly unusual viewpoints when you are gathering material for paintings. Whereas the previous two paintings are quite traditional in composition – looking across the land at hills towering above us – for this painting of Portloe in Cornwall, I climbed up a cliff path and looked down into the bay. Old Harry remains and, joined by other white stone monoliths, it’s one of the most impressive stretches of coastline in the UK. Although not as famous as the well-know series listed above, the analysis of the “Cabane des douaniers” is fascinating. For example, in an example exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art the composition is virtually identical to that of the already commented “Cliffs near Dieppe”, while in an example belonging to an American private collection the dramatic effect of the composition is not only created by the verticality, but it is also reinforced by the asymmetry caused by the diagonal of the cliff. Claude Monet: “Cabane des douaniers at Varengeville” (1882) – Boston, Museum of Fine Arts