As I gave my recent painting of Essaouria to a friend I wanted to return to the scene and paint it again. I found looking through my photos of the trip a more misty version with the tide at a higher point. I felt I had not worked on the city’s coastline properly and this photo was showing more of the sea’s edge  but it also included a rougher sea and the gulls.

I’ve used larger paper this time and this offers me more scope on close ups and wider skys and seas. As I mentioned in my previous post I’m looking at composition and this subject is confusing me.  I’ve created an acronym which I can remember, however, I sometimes forget all the meanings.

BUMFROPP. Its a good word to remember. Balance, Unity, Movement, Focus, Rhythm, O(contrast Or tone), Pattern and Proportion.

Now to apply this to my painting – well I can’t… or I should say I can and I can’t.  I end up post-rationalising and forcing the composition to fit the points. Did I start out with Bumfropp? Sort of, but not completely. I already knew the scene as it had worked before. There was very little drawing as I did most of detail at the painting stage. So it emerged quite quickly with only the initial washes and gulls taking time. I hope you like it.

Seagulls of Essaouria