Sidmouth Beach Jurasic Coast

The red cliffs at Sidmouth provide a great chance to use warm earth tones in a watercolour painting. I used a mix of burnt sienna and light red to get that rich colour you see in the Jurassic Coast rocks. By keeping the paint thick in some areas and thin in others, I can show the texture of the stone. This warmth works very well when it sits next to the cool blues of the sea and the sky. It creates a natural balance that catches the eye.

When I paint the people on the beach, I try not to overwork them. I use quick strokes of neutral tint and cobalt blue to give the impression of movement. If you add too much detail to small figures, the painting can look a bit stiff. I find that a few dark spots for the heads and simple shapes for the bodies tell the story perfectly. These small bits of dark paint help to ground the picture and give a sense of scale to the massive cliffs.

The white buildings on the right side are mostly just the clean paper showing through. I painted around them using a soft grey and some yellow ochre for the shadows. The bright green on top of the cliff was made with a touch of spring green. This adds a bit of freshness to the landscape. I also used white paint at the very end to add some sharp highlights on the railings and the tops of the figures to suggest bright sunlight.