Grand Harbor Light seascape--progression

My painting progression posts seem to be a hit with folks so I am going to post more of them this year. I've created a "progression" label--see the sidebar on the right--so you can look up past paintings I have posted about.

I recently finished a commission for a seascape of Grand Harbor lighthouse in Michigan. The painting presented a compositional challenge in that the the canvas was very long and narrow (20 x 60 inches) and I had to figure out how to incorporate the buildings in a visually compelling manner.

step 1: base coat of cadmium orange and basic composition sketched in with charcoal

step 2: underpainting (a mixture of ultramarine blue and cadmium orange) of basic shapes and darkest values

step 3: laying in the sky--I added a lot of drama and diagonal lines to add visual interest

step 4: adding more color to sky

step 5: I opted for a choppy surf for more visual interest

step 6: I must have gotten lost in right brain mode because I forgot to photograph a few steps ;-)  The sky is mostly completed with a slightly setting sun and lots of dramatic clouds, choppy surf and architectural features laid down.

final piece ready to send off to clients!