Cliffs of Moher

I was asked to create a long panorama of the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare for a couple who got engaged right there!  I loved having an excuse to work big again and this is 36″ wide by 13″.

The finished painting, pastel on velour 36″x13″

Having sketched out the cliff face to get the perspective I’m making sure here that the horizon is level and at the golden ratio point which is about 0.61.

Working on the sky.  I don’t have one photo to work from for this as the clients wanted more muted tones.  So I’m creating a sunrise colour scheme although at this stage the yellow sky looks a bit strange!

I’m working the land from farthest away.  Each layer of land will have a mask of pastel applied over it and blended in slightly to give that effect of hazy morning light.

The waves make a nice sweeping motion around the bay here adding that sense of perspective.  Here I’ve just given myself some directional lines to keep me right when I come to do the waves.

Working more of the land and using a vibrant blue and lilac for the sea foam in the shadow of the cliffs.  This should contrast well with the light yellowy shade I use as my highlight colour on the brightest waves and in the sky.

The cliffs in the foreground will have less of the hazy light on them just to give that sense of them being closer.  I use a black Faber Castell stick to block in the darkest areas first.  The rest is all done with Unison pastels and I didn’t use any pastel pencil in this as there was no need for such small detail.

You can see my dark bottom layer on the cliff closest to you here.

I’ve then built up the texture of the cliff with angular marks using purples and yellowy greens.  A lot of the cliffs are made up of shades of purple surprisingly but this contrasts nicely with that yellow sky.

The sea is loose and hopefully gives a sense of those waves rolling towards the cliffs.

Hope you enjoyed the progress of this piece.  It was something quite different for me as usually when I paint a landscape there is some kind of focus.  Instead I feel like this has a calm feel to it with the focus being completely on the drama of the landscape.
The cliffs are a place I have not yet had the pleasure of visiting, but I think I need to go see them in person soon!