Finished - Painting #1000

 Yes! My 1000th painting is finished. 

This post is a continuation of the post on May 8, 2026. I needed the underpainting of the foreground grasses to dry before I could add the grasses in sunlight. In the meantime I completed the five paintings for my 2026 Sea, Sand, and Shore Collection at the Louisa Gould Gallery on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

 

Here is painting #1000.

 

 

Touching

Original oil by Linda Besse

24" X 36" 

 

 

 

 

Finished

 

Old Friends

Original Oil by Linda Besse

32" X 44"  

 

 

 

Furled Sails

 

It's amazing how much time it takes to paint furled sails. One would think since it is a much smaller area than an open sail it'd be a breeze. But, to make the wrapped sail feel like cloth takes a lot of care to build the creases caused by the ropes and ties around the sail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boat Hulls

 

First I painted the buoys. The two matching ones didn't have much to them, but the round ones took some extra time with the stripe and reflection.

 

Next up were the hulls. I started on the water line (a deep cranberry) then moved to the white hulls.

A key to making this painting work is not only painting reflections of the boats in the water but also creating reflections of moving water on the boats. 

 

Much of this upward reflection is trial and error as I play around with lighter streaks, blending, darkening, more light streaks, etc. The idea is to make the reflection present but not a focal point. At the same time I worked on the reflections in the water, softening them and blending in warmer greens.

 

I've been looking forward to painting the wood of these boats. It was the wood and timeless nature of the boats which sparked the concept of the painting.

 

 

 

Water

 

At this point the boat reflections are just roughed in. I'll be able to gauge their look better once the hull of the boats is painted.

 

 

 

 

What happened to all the boats?

 As you can see in my previous post one of my reference photos shows the masts of a lot of boats in the harbor.

My painting will not.

 

It's not that I can't paint 30 boats, but they aren't part of the story I want to tell. A jumble of boats from different boat building eras says more about the harbor than about the boats.

 

There were three wooden boats which grabbed my attention and they are my subjects.

 

Painting Water 

Many painters don't list painting water as one of their favorite aspects of painting. I find it not only one of the most challenging elements but also one of the most satisfying. 

 

My first step is to identify what type of water it is, besides being wet.

Is it calm? reflective? fresh or salty?

Is the day windy, slight breeze, or dead calm?

What color is the sky?

 

In this piece I have saltwater, a slight breeze, a light cloudy sky, and a good deal of distance between the horizon to the most foreground section of water. All of this comes in to play.

 

 

 

 

 To capture the distance, the color of the water has to change from the far distance (cool) to the foreground (warmer and more saturated.) 

With the slight breeze the "ripples" will go from barely anything to larger wavy water. The breeze will also mean I do not have detailed reflections of the boats but rather broken less defined shadows.

 

The photo above shows how I am building this water. Below the breakwater and above the hull of the background boat the water is "filled in." Below that I am leaving gaps in the paint and will come back in with additional colors after this blocking is done. 

Note: Just below the breakwater on the right side of the painting I am leaving the water lighter as a subtle nod to the lighter clouds above it. 

 

This is a big board, 32" x 44", so there are a lot of brushstrokes to cover it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Breakwater

The camera is no substitute for a painter's eye.

 

This breakwater is a perfect example.

 

photo reference

  Even if I had every foot of the breakwater visible I do not want to paint it that dark. Colors like that create a strong focal element which draws one's eye and decreases the depth of the painting.

 

That leaves two issues to resolve: building a breakwater for which there is limited information and coming up with colors which read as dark but aren't.

 

For the "building the breakwater" I know the rocks are not rounded but rather angular.

For the colors I mix lighter colors, leaning toward the cool end of the scale, but also include some browns for the weathering rocks.

 

 

 

 painting

 

The breakwater in my painting looks incredibly light compared to the one in the photo at the top of the post. I may darken some areas after the rest of the painting is completed, but the goal is to suggest a breakwater and not chop up the painting with a harsh dividing line.

 

 

 

 

Making it up

 There are times when photo reference can aid in paintings and times when it is less than helpful.

 

This is one of those times. Unless I am purposely focused on a uniquely beautiful sky, in many of my reference photos the sky is unremarkable or just dull. While few paintings require a stunning sunrise or sunset, an interesting sky can be an important feature in a piece.

 

 

This is the upper part of one of my reference photos for my current painting.

The sky is "eh."

 

 

Fortunately, this is a place I have spent many days. When I refer to "making it up" that presumes a knowledge of the subject and an inherent perception of what could be possible if you had the "perfect" reference.

 

Current upper part of the painting. (quick phone photo)

 

The painting's setting is in Vineyard Haven harbor on the island of Martha's Vineyard. I have often watched banks of clouds develop over Cape Cod (which is the land in the background.)

 

I've used a technique I often employ for skies. As you've seen from my other paintings, once my drawing is complete, I use a light yellow ochre turpentine wash over the entire painting. This not only "locks" in my pencil drawing but also adds warmth to the white gessoed board. (Since I knew I would be winging it for the sky I didn't draw anything above the horizon land line.)

 

When I start painting the sky I mix several colors on my palette. Between the upper most color of the sky and the warmer color below it I left a small gap. With a very soft blending brush I blended most of the two colors together but left gaps where the wash underneath is visible or shows through the thinner layer of paint.

 

As I worked my way down the painting I kept in mind how clouds can form in this coastal area. After blocking in most of the colors (making sure the uppermost cool color appeared in long streaks in the warmer bank of clouds) it was time to use the blending brush again to soften any rough edges.

 

I wanted the clouds to be more interesting than any of my reference photos for this day but didn't want them to take center stage in the painting. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished

 

Buoyant

18" X 11"

Original oil by Linda Besse  

 

 

 

 

More color

 Almost all the "non- white" color is in at this point. Why won't each buoy have color? It would be too much, a cacophony of color. And, not all buoys have a color other than white.

 

While this might seem like a jumble, it's an ordered disorder. 

 

 

 

Buoys

 Usually I paint background to foreground, top to bottom. Not here. I'll skip around the piece, choosing the next buoy whose color I feel like mixing.

  

 

 

 

 

In the Meantime...

 While waiting for the darker grasses to dry before adding the lightest layer of grasses on my leopard painting (see previous post), I am working on my summer Sea, Sand, & Shore collection for the Louisa Gould Gallery on Martha's Vineyard.

 

So, something completely different!

 

 I thought a window reflection would add a different twist to the piece.

 

 

 

 

The colors of the buoys will give me a chance to mix colors I don't often use in my wildlife paintings. While tempted to start playing with them right away I want to finish the shingles first.

 

 For the shingles I have three main colors mixed. Using strokes of cool and warm and playing with the shadows on the shingles will give the buoys a more 3-D look on the wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Foreground Grass

 

The foreground grasses are going to take some time.

You can see in earlier posts that I painted the base layer of the sunlit section. I wanted this to dry while I worked on the leopards. I've now added some depth with some mid and darker grasses. Most of the grass will be very light and bright which will also increase the feeling of shadow underneath the trees where the cats are lying.

 

I'll wait for this to dry before adding the final grasses.

 

Note: it is difficult for me to wait. My main method of painting is to work wet-on-wet but there are some times when that is not the most effective way to achieve certain looks. For me, grass is one of them. While waiting I have four more paintings drawn and only have to choose which one to start.

 

 

 

 

One cat almost finished

 

Next up, the female.

This photo was taken with my good camera, rather than my phone.

 

 

 

The in-between

 Before starting on the interstices (painting between the spots) I decided to block in the rest of the background. This is the area which is fully in the sun. Once this base is dry (or mostly dry) I'll paint all the bright sunlit grasses on top.

 

 

 

 

I chose to start on the male. With his position partially in the sun, he'll have the greater range of temperature in his colors.

 

Speaking of colors, below are my palettes. The one on the left is the one I used for all the background and the spots. The smaller palette on the right has colors ranging from cool to warm for the cat. 

 

 

 I started out a bit too cool on the cat so have warmed it up with cadmium yellow deep toned with some burnt umber.

 

 

You can see the spots look two-dimensional. That's due to their sharp edges. This is why once the rest of the cat is painted I'll repaint the spots and feather their edges in to the wet paint of the lighter colors.

 

 Keep in mind that this entire cat is about 10 inches long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Spots

 

After many years of painting spots, I've found what works best for me in creating the illusion of fur.

Keep in mind that this painting is 24" X 36" so the leopards are relatively small.

 

As you can see with the leopard to the left, my overall turpentine wash (Rembrandt yellow ochre and turpentine) was heavier overall on her than the lower part of the painting. After the base dried I went back in with a more concentrated yellow ochre in the wash and applied it to the spots. This can be a little sloppy (not staying within the lines of my drawn spots) as it is meant as a color base. I let this turpentine wash completely dry (usually 1 day) before applying any oil paint.

 

I do not own any black oil paint. On top of the yellow ochre wash for the spots I like a mixture of Rembrandt ultramarine blue, burnt umber, and burnt sienna. The percentage of each varies depending on whether the cat is in sunlight, dappled light, or full shade. If I want a lighter spot (maybe in furrier chest areas) I'll add some titanium white, use very little paint on my brush, and dry brush it on.

 

 

I'll be adjusting the color of the spots further once the background color is applied and the dappled light is established.

 

 

 

Background

 There will still be adjustments to the background but I'm far enough along on the background that I feel comfortable starting on the leopards' spots.

 

 

 

On leopards I like to paint all the spots, then the interstices, then repaint the "black" spots and blend them in to the lighter fur. (Note: my dark oil paints can dry overnight while the lighter colors can be wet for days, even a week.)  Why paint the spots twice? For me the spots inform the direction of fur, the muscle groups, and provide the road map for the lighter fur. I'll be mixing several colors for the "black" spots as some parts of fur are hit with dappled light.

 

 

 

More green

 

This is certainly one of my more complicated backgrounds.

I'm anxious to start painting the leopards but know this background can't be rushed.

 

Sometimes when I am thinking too hard during painting I reach out for a distraction. Something which will engage the intellectual part of my brain so the creative part can work on the painting - at least that's way I think of it.

 

Yesterday I put a podcast on my studio speakers, The Moth Radio Hour. It is a collection of real stories (usually 3) which are based on a single theme and told by "regular" folks in front of an audience. Some are funny, some sad, some insightful. It was the delightful distraction I needed.

 

 

 

Greenery

 If the background in my leopard piece weren't complicated enough, the leaves range from very cool to very warm greens.

 

In my early paintings greens were a menace. It took forever to mix them. I'd try this combination of colors and they wouldn't work, then that combination. Finally I realized that I had to do something to feel more comfortable with green. I decided to paint a piece focusing on different shades of green.

 

Shades of Green   2001

Original oil

16" X 24" 

 

After this painting was I a master at painting greens? Hardly! But, I no longer approached them with trepidation, but rather with a sense of respect   - and a hint of challenge.

 

 

As this is my 1000th painting I am reflecting on what brought me to this point beyond the number count.

 

 

 

 

Still Building

 I'm still constructing the background. It looks pretty dull at this point so I'm eager to fill in some greenery.