Stormy Loch Lomond

Stormy Loch Lomond

It’s always raining!

Yeh yeh, I know when you visit Scotland you really do have to take a coat and umbrella, but just for once it would be lovely to visit Loch Lomond when it’s sunny, I’m sure it will happen one of these days. But still, it has not deterred me from painting this little scene of the Loch, looking south from the end of Luss Pier.
On our way there the weather was looking hopeful, but buy the time we got there, the wind had gotten up and the day became rather overcast.

I set about setting my watercolour sketches, but there was no time, I could see the storm brewing and the rain already falling in the distance, So it was a quick snap of the camera to take the capture ready for working on in the painting in the studio.
With the storm front just coming in, there was a break in the clouds, letting the sun just peeking through, there was a warm glow, but don’t let that fool you, despite being warm in colour it was a cold day.

I decided to paint this using just three colours, Paynes Grey, Prussian Blue and Yellow Ochre. I did use a little white also.
There is something strangely satisfying about painting with a limited pallet, perhaps it’s the lack of cleanup afterwards. But it’s more likely the simplicity of the colour mixing and blending, leaving you free to paint your emotions rather than thinking more about the tonality of the painting.

Needless to say I am really happy with the final painting, it has a lo of depth and I love the way the light shines through the gap int he clouds and reflects on the water. I also like that you can see the rain falling in from the clouds too.