How to Paint a Beach Baby

Sandy Seashell (c) Mary Hubley

Painting Children

I walk out of my doorstep to find beach happenings.

Families setting up for pleasures of sand and surf. Moms and dads sit on their towels to watch their little ones.

This baby picked up a pink shell at the edge of the waves. She used it like a pencil to draw in the sand. Eventually, the waves took her bucket, and she splashed into the water to fetch it.

I have painted many children in my art career - most of them at the beach, my back yard. Here, I can peer into their world, and capture them in deep concentration.

How to paint a child at the beach

To prepare for painting, I make color studies at the beach and take photographs of babies playing. I then head home to do most of the work.

For this painting, I used raw sienna to tone the canvas and create the under painting. The key to getting it right is to draw the child's proportions correctly from the very beginning. The under painting is where I spend most of my time. When I finally start filling in colors, I start with the skin tones, and then go for values - darkest darks (hair, shadows), and then lightest lights (surf, reflections).

Genre: Figure
Painting Name: Sandy Seashell
Size: 8" x 8"
Media: Oil on Canvas


-- Mary Hubley