The Sea In Action, by Earl Daniels

I knew all along I wanted to paint the sea, but needed to find a resource to help me get started.  There are very few oil pastel instructional guides on the market, so I’ve learned to find well-written quality books on painting techniques,  and interpret the information to apply to oil pastels.  The book here taught me the basics for painting seas; I continue to use it as reference.

The Sea In Action written by Earl Daniels sometime in the 60’s, no inside cover information.  This book is an old 11 x 14 paperback and only 29 pages.  Mr. Daniels loved the sea and if you have an opportunity to see his work do so, you won’t be disappointed.  After studying the sea for hours at a time, he learned how to put these visuals on canvas, most of his paintings are stunning.

Mr. Daniels book is an easy read, packed with good instruction and tips, and provides step-by-step visuals for each main concept in a form of sketches to the last painting.  He writes about the following:  palette, composition, wave action, painting on location, planning the painting, perspective, the surf on rocky shores and beaches.

I highly recommend this book if you want to begin to learn how to paint the sea, that is if you are lucky enough to get your hands on a copy. 

What follows are my very first two seascape paintings (done in oil pastels) using this book as my guide.  Note they are not in my seascape gallery, they are only posted here as a reference – thank you Earl Daniels!

Have you read this book or another that would be a great resource for seascape artists?

After the Storm

Moonlight Surf