Turning the Tide

​While touring Europe, I stayed a few days in London. I went to the Tate Museum to see paintings of London’s greatest artist, JMW Turner. The next I had traveled to Trinity Buoy Wharf to sketch London's only Lighthouse. While there I also discovered Lightship 95. I was spellbound by its presence. It seemed pregnant with stories of its past. 

Back in the United States, I looked at my yellow foreground and became inspired when I read how much Turner used yellow. According to the book "How to Paint like Turner", "Some of Turner's most daring and experimental innovations centered around his use of yellow. It seems to have been his favorite color and he used it liberally. " "For more than thirty years his use of yellow became one of the most frequently mentioned aspects of his art, with critics variously accusing him of 'yellow fever'...

With Turner as my inspiration, I threw a hue of colors on the paper. When I finished I was delighted when the lighthouses seem to magically emerge.