{"id":441,"date":"2026-08-09T02:18:31","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T02:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/?p=441"},"modified":"2026-08-22T02:31:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T02:31:33","slug":"northland-cove-5x7-15-minute-painting-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/?p=441","title":{"rendered":"Northland Cove 5×7 – 15 Minute Painting Session!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\nhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/qlBuJBqnCFY\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Transcript and Key Insights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Northland Cove is a five-by-seven oil painting I painted a few days ago. While this video is a sped-up version of the live session available in the members area (which includes the color mixing and reference image), what you see here remains faithful to the original process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Core Concept: Geometry Over Realism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of Northland Cove is a composition based on geometry rather than strict adherence to the reference photo. If you look at the canvas, you essentially have a large triangle inside of a square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the process, I initially laid out a larger triangular shape, but I decided to tighten it up to match the reference more closely. To achieve this structural integrity, I employed a loose grid system. While not necessarily the best tool for absolute accuracy, a loose grid is excellent for establishing bearings and ensuring your strong diagonals reconcile correctly within the frame. Whenever you have strong diagonals in a painting, you must work hard to balance them with counter-forces to ensure a good composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Northland Cove 5×7<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Color Strategy: Crispness and Vanilla Mixes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The color strategy for this piece was driven by a desire for crispness in a daylight scene. Rather than reinventing colors from one painting to the next, I kept my approach “somewhat vanilla.” I did not get fancy with the mixtures; they were straightforward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This simplicity allowed me to retain a crisp feeling without getting too cluttered or busy. Specifically, when mixing the greens, I avoided making them overly muddy. A coastal scene offers built-in variety through the blues of the ocean and sky, the grays and whites of clouds, and the topsi-turvy colors of the sand. However, even with these varied tones, keeping the mixture clean prevents the landscape from becoming muddled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Composition Decisions: Cutting the Distraction<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One specific element in the original reference image that I found distracting was an extremely wide strip of sand running along the bottom. I felt it was boring and decided to alter this area during the painting process. Additionally, while the reference contained strong vertical elements, I chose not to pursue them heavily here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recognized that adding verticals could offset the diagonals effectively, but in this specific case, pursuing that idea introduced issues that outweighed the benefit. The great advantage of an underpainting stage is exactly this: you can try things out. If a decision doesn’t work, you can pivot without ruining the entire painting. This flexibility allows you to focus on what interests you rather than being enslaved by every detail of the photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Painting the Darks and Greens<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I proceeded with the darks using Mars Black mixed with just a touch of burnt umber. Interestingly, during the live session where I wasn’t certain about the light source until I started working it out, I determined that the light was coming from the left. This decision dictated where I placed my strongest darks\u2014specifically against the edge of the headland to establish form and depth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, I pulled out those darks using deep dark greens. My strategy here involves mixing a dark green that has enough spread to be discernibly different from the purest blacks used in the underpainting. This logical progression\u2014from darkest tones down to medium tones, and finally to highlights\u2014ensures a cohesive value structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is an overlap principle at play here: laying down a spray of color does not mean you cannot come right over the top with another color immediately after. You are limited only by how much you can effectively rework the surface without losing cohesion. To facilitate this, I recommend using medium if you wish to pop wet paint directly onto wet paint; otherwise, you will likely end up removing too much of the previous layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ocean and Waves<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the reference image, there were almost no waves hitting the shore. However, I brought in slightly bigger waves for this painting because having movement at the shoreline is always a good thing. My goal for the ocean was simply to make it “discernibly an ocean.” I didn’t want to do anything amazing or overly complicated with it; I just needed it to be believable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Mistakes: The Curse of Repetition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While working on the sky, I encountered what I call a personal curse: repetition. At a certain point in the painting, I risked creating three masses that were very similar in shape and volume. This consistency creates a boring rhythm where the shapes repeat too regularly, cluttering the space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I address this by constantly checking how the shapes read from the camera lens versus the eye level of the viewer. Avoiding this repetition is key to maintaining visual interest. As discussed in my previous book, which has now shipped over 220 copies worldwide and is signed and numbered, managing these masses is crucial for professional-looking landscapes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why It Matters: Decision Making<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Painting is wonderful because there are nearly infinite decisions to be made. Every brushstroke represents a choice: what size brush? What direction is the handle held? Which colors go on the brush? How thick or thin will the paint be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every stroke is an individual decision, and cumulatively, they add up to something great\u2014or they can start falling apart. It is okay if things fall apart in a painting. Do not get discouraged. If a painting isn’t working, you don’t need to keep it on your wall or in your mind unless you plan to fix it later. Sometimes, the best move is to stick it in a drawer and get back to focusing on what you can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Failing is a huge part of the artistic process. In the old days, people understood this better; today, social media often encourages artists to only share their best faces forward, hiding the struggle. Even here, I rarely share the “real stinkers.” But remember, getting rid of a failed painting allows you to build up your muscles for the next one. Eventually, you will fish that old painting out and realize what you needed to do to fix it, but comfort yourself with the knowledge that failing is just part of the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Practical Takeaway<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

So, how does this look in practice? The strategy was simple: establish a geometric framework (triangle in a square), use a loose grid for bearings, keep colors crisp and “vanilla,” and don’t be afraid to simplify the reference if certain elements (like a boring sand strip) distract you. Trust your underpainting process to allow you to pivot when a vertical element or another idea doesn’t serve the composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember that every decision counts, but perfection isn’t the goal. As long as you are making decisions with every stroke and building up a repertoire of archetypal themes through practice, you are on the right track.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take good care of yourself. Stay out of trouble. And fight the power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike’s New Site<\/a> | Substack<\/a> | Painting Website<\/a> | Mailing List<\/a> | Store<\/a> | My Music<\/a> | Support<\/a> | Members Area<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M Francis McCarthy, Your Painter in Residence<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Transcript and Key Insights Northland Cove is a five-by-seven oil painting I painted a few days ago. While this video is a sped-up version of the live session available in the members area (which includes the color mixing and reference image), what you...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-painting","rsfv-has-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=441"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":553,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441\/revisions\/553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfrancismccarthy.art\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}