Sketches from the Caribbean Sea - Small Works / Color Studies

Sketches from the Caribbean Sea are available through my Etsy shop and website. These paintings are framed with Free Shipping! If interested follow this link.

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Serenity is a word that is hard to image. Until you spend time on a beach like this. This is what it looks like. Paintings from the Caribbean Sea. Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Caribbean Paradise, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett

Kinich Ahau (K'inich Ajaw) was the Sun God of the Mayans and was believed to turn into a jaguar as he went through the underworld (Xibalbá) each night. 

Kinich Ahau (Mayan Sun god) oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett

The illuminating glow of the morning sun creates shimmers of silver on top of the turquoise blue. It draws you in. The Sun God Kinich Ahau is awake. 

You are awake.

 Caribbean Daybreak, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett

 

This storm passed quickly. Was there just long enough to add to the days drama and remind us of the power and beauty of nature.

Breaking Wave, Breaking Rain, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett

I enjoy mornings on the beach so much, I am always astonished what the elements Water, Earth, and Air can create, it is always more than my imagination could.

Caribbean Ray, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett

In Cancún, on the Yucatán Peninsula bordering the Caribbean Sea, you find some of the best beaches in the world and endless stunning sunrises for inspiration.

Morning Sun Cancun, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett

Gorgeous turquoise water, beautiful white sand beaches, amazing sunrises. Much needed break.

Playa Cancun, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett 

Nothing is more relaxing than that gentle sound of the surf hitting the beach.

Sounds of the Caribbean Sea, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett

I know I have probably said this a million times, but the color of the water here is hypnotic, just pure natural beauty. 

Turquoise Surf, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett

Explore - Question - Learn - - Enjoy, Jim 

 

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Small Works / Color Studies – Mexico

I must admit that I am not much of a morning person, my wife Linda finds it so funny that when we are in Mexico, I get up early and go to the beach for every sunrise. I am drawn to those amazing skies at dawn on the Caribbean Sea.  In Cancún, on the Yucatán Peninsula bordering the Caribbean Sea, you find some of the best beaches in the world and endless stunning sunrises for inspiration.

And I know I have probably said this a million times, but the color of the water here is hypnotic, just pure natural beauty. It was a great trip, and we had some of the best snorkeling adventures this year. Also, we got a chance to do a little island hopping along the Yucatan coast to explore Isla Contoy (National Park) and Isla Mujeres (Isle of Women). But mostly we spent two long weeks enjoying the beautiful beach.

I did a bit of sketching. And this year I took along a little compact pochade box to do oil studies in, which turned out to be just a perfect beach kit. My goal was to capture the color, value, atmosphere, of this unique location. So here are a few of the sketches from Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Enjoy 

Such beautiful sunrises in Cancun. I got up early enough to catch several, I am drawn to those amazing skies at dawn on the Caribbean Sea with the sun exploding up over the morning clouds.

Cancun Sunrise, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett © jimserrettstudio

I love the watching the colors change at sunrise on the beach. 

Small sketches and studies are great exercises and I learn so much from them.

Caribbean Morning, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett ©

Early morning light with a storm on the horizon. The energy of a wave is hard to capture. You must look for the simple elements such as design, shapes, values, color and edges. You could do hundreds of studies and none would look the same.

Yucatan Sunrise, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett ©

Straight out from this lifeguard tower we were able to walk over 100 yards in waist deep turquoise water. And let the rolling waves wash over us.

Lifeguard Tower Mexico, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett ©

Watching clouds build up on the horizon. The sea along the Yucatan Peninsula is one of the most beautiful in the world, just amazing. I could paint it forever, exploring and studying the colors, all the deep violets and endless cerulean blues. Chillax :)

Cloud Study on the Yucatan Peninsula, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett ©

There is no image of Cancun as iconic as Palapas on the white sand against the cerulean blue sea with clouds bellowing overhead. Probably because of the memories it conjures and the story it can tell.

Caribbean Palapas, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett ©

Kinich Ahau (K'inich Ajaw) was the Sun God of the Mayans and was believed to turn into a jaguar as he went through the underworld (Xibalbá) each night. You can almost see him in the sun battling the dark clouds.

Mayan Sun, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett © jimserrettstudio

Every morning is different on the Caribbean Sea, the light is never the same.
It is in flux, shifting atmospheric conditions—light flickering on water, moving clouds, a burst of rain. You can get lost in the moment painting the appearance of quickly changing light.

Beach Morning, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett ©

Painting surf is like trying to hit a moving target. It’s a fascinating exercise to get better at painting all types of subjects on location. But its also just so much fun.

Caribbean Surf, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett ©

I love the deep blue of the vaulting sky, watching clouds float and dance.
An oil study looking down the beach from the Royal Islander Resort towards Punta Nizuc in Cancun, Mexico.
Dos cervezas más, por favor señor

Looking Towards Punta Nizuc, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett ©

When I sit in front of the Caribbean Sea and try to match the colors with little piles of paint, shifting around the hue, value and chroma. My goal is to make as close as I can, the color I see -- that blue, blue-green or blue-violet –  and then realize how beautiful, sublime and imaginative nature is.

Colors of the Caribbean Sea, oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches, Jim Serrett ©

Sketches from the Caribbean Sea are available through my online store. 

These oil paintings are framed. If interested follow this link. 

Serrett Studio Etsy Store - www.etsy.com/shop/SerrettStudio

Getting up early to paint the Caribbean sunrise. Chillax

Explore - Question - Learn - - Enjoy, Jim 

Website - jimserrett.com 
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Punta Nizuc Reef - WIP

These are two studies based on my sketches from Mexico at our favorite snorkeling spot. They will be the source of a larger studio painting. I am working out the design idea based on my sketches and studies done on site, while relying on the memories of the place and the connection I have to it. It is this visual library of references that I will based the finished work on.

In the studio I ask myself a million questions – how to describe the shadow of these clouds, where is the horizon line seen and what colors are in the Caribbean Sea?, to name a few. Organizing all of the questions and answering them in a color study will aid me in the finished piece. I tried two versions based on my drawings with slightly different vantage points and lighting to establish the mood of the painting. With these I hope to create out of my mind's eye, my memories, and my feelings for the amazing place and experience.

Punta Nizuc Reef, Color Studies I and II, oil on panel,  9 x 12 in, © jserrett

Punta Nizuc Reef, Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Explore - Question - Learn - - Enjoy, Jim 

Website - jimserrett.com 
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More Travel Sketches

One of the things I like most about a pocket sketchbook is that, it's such a convenient way to explore the world through drawing. To use our observational skills and record ideas.

In this small format I like to make quick sketches and simplify, virtually creating thumbnail drawings where I filter what I need to leave out and leave in to convey the subject.

Watercolors are a different way of thinking for me then oils, they are much more spontaneous and erratic. I see painting with watercolor as a type of controlled disaster, often you just have to let it do what it wants, but then that is part of the fun.

I like to think of it as a drawing adventure and not get too overcritical about them. Rather, to look at it as developing your vision and sit back and enjoy the process. In the end, everything you put in a sketchbook is important because there are no mistakes, only lessons.

When you create a quick gesture sketch that has nice expressive and loose strokes which convey a sense of place, well that’s the big picture and what really matters.

“The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.” - Linus Pauling

Sketches are in a Moleskine Watercolor Notebook (3.5 x 5.5 inch)

Explore - Question - Learn - - Enjoy, Jim 

Website - jimserrett.com 
Studio Blog - jimserrettstudio.com 
Landscape Blog - Pochade Box Paintings

Palapa Party !

I’ve got to tell you, there is no better way to boycott winter than to find a little patch of sand along the Caribbean Sea to occupy and just park it. Watch the sunrise, watch the sunset, cold cerveza and do it all again. Palapa party!

Punta Nizuc Reef Cancun Mexico - I could sit there (or lounge) all day and fill my Moleskine journals with sketches and never run out of things to draw or paint. I have said this a thousand times, so it does seem redundant, but the sea along the Caribbean in Cancun is one of the most beautiful in the world, just amazing. I could paint it forever, exploring and studying the colors, all the deep violets and endless cerulean blues.

There is no better way to recharge than fresh air and fresh scenery. For me to just scribble and doodle in a sketchbook in such a serene place, that is the best of all worlds. I carried a couple of sketchbooks, a 3.5x5.5-inch pocket Moleskine, a 5.5x8.5-inch Strathmore Watercolor Journal and a small watercolor pad. I had my old Winsor & Newton Field Box Set but used mostly a Lukas 1862 Artists Watercolors set, it had a color palette that seemed perfect for the sea and sky. I used a Rotring art pen loaded with Noddlers ink, both of which I really enjoyed drawing with. And of course a couple of Pitt Pens and a clutch pencil.

Of course we had to find Mayan ruins to explore and we snorkeled until my lips cracked. I think my wife is really a mermaid and swims like a fish. What I really appreciate is her patience with me when I am sketching on location, especially in El Rey where she had to combat the giant iguanas.

Just another beautiful sunrise in paradise. 

Royal Resort - Royal Islander, Cancun Mexico

El Rey Ruins (Zona Arqueologica El Rey)

Explore - Question - Learn - - Enjoy, Jim 

Website - jimserrett.com
Studio Blog - jimserrettstudio.com 
Landscape Blog - Pochade Box Paintings