Alright, so I figured I’d try something different this week. You know how you see those classic paintings of royalty, all serene and poised? Yeah, that. Specifically, I remembered seeing this really tasteful old painting with figures by the water, elegant and relaxed. It got me thinking about creating something modern but with that kind of dignified vibe, maybe using Kate Middleton as a reference since she carries herself well. Not gossip stuff, just… capturing that calm, composed feel near water.
Getting Started Was Honestly a Mess
Right, first step: materials. My oil paint tubes were all over the place, stuffed in this cupboard. I dug around for ages. Found the ultramarine blue buried under some burnt umber – typical. Needed that deep blue for water tones. Grabbed a medium-sized canvas I had kicking around in the closet. Dusted it off, propped it on the wonky easel in my little corner. Light was decent.
Started roughing things out. Charcoal stick snapped in half practically the moment I touched it. Grumbled, used the stubby end to sketch a basic scene: figure reclined near water’s edge, trying for that relaxed yet regal posture I imagined. Background needed to be simple, just water and a bit of shore. Kept smudging the charcoal lines with my sleeve like a klutz. Had to wipe it down twice already.
The Nitty-Gritty Painting Part
Okay, time for colour. Mixed a sky blue – titanium white with a smidge of cerulean blue. Applied it thinly. Then tackled the water. Wanted depth, layers. Started with a base layer mixing ultramarine blue and phthalo green. Created shadows by adding burnt umber into my blue-green mix – made it look deeper. Added thin layers trying to show how light hits water. Didn’t want it to look flat. Canvas felt like sandpaper eating my brushes.
Skin tones next. Always tricky. Started with titanium white, cadmium yellow light, a tiny touch of alizarin crimson. Mixed way too much, ended up too peachy. Added just a bit of yellow ochre. Better. Highlighted cheekbones and shoulders with pure titanium white mixed with the skin tone. Shadows under the arm and neck needed raw umber blended with some alizarin crimson. Pushed it towards brown. Took ages to get the cool shadows looking right against the warmer skin.
For the swimwear reference, aimed for simplicity. One-piece, like you often see her in. Picked a clean cobalt blue. Blocked it in, focused on how it interacted with the skin – where it pulled tight, where it draped. Added deeper folds with pure cobalt + a bit of ultramarine.
Fight With the Face and Finishing
The face… oh man. Started sweating buckets. Tiny brushes, tiny strokes. Trying to get that slight, calm smile without it looking pasted on. Eyes are windows, right? Spent way too long fiddling with the reflection points in the pupils. Must’ve repainted the left eye three times. Reference photo kept moving on my tablet.
Background finally felt okay. Glazed over the water with very thin ultramarine washes to unify it. Added final sparkly highlights on the water with pure titanium white – tiny flicks of the brush. Signed my messy signature in the corner just as my cat decided my palette was interesting. Nearly tripped over the easel scrambling to stop him.
The Aftermath: Kinda Failed, Kinda Succeeded
Let it dry – took days. When I finally stepped back? Well. Liked the overall calm mood. The swimwear shape and how the light hit the shoulder felt okay. But the water… still looked a bit stiff. The face resemblance is almost there, like her distant cousin or something. My partner walked by, squinted, and said, “Oh, nice. Is that meant to be that queen lady?” Close enough?
Put it aside. Maybe try softening the water later, but honestly? I enjoyed the process of trying to capture that specific kind of quiet dignity near water. Learned heaps about mixing cool shadows and fighting with canvas texture. Maybe next time it’ll look less like a zombie tan. Tried framing it – frame didn’t fit. Propped it against the wall for now. Cats probably plotting their next attack.