“Lighthouse Park Rock” is a painting that captures one of my very first plein air experiences, created at West Vancouver's iconic Lighthouse Park. This park, famed for its old-growth coastal rainforest, scenic trails, and the historic Point Atkinson Lighthouse, holds a special draw for me with its rugged coastline and dramatic granite cliffs.

My focus for this painting was a close-up on the rock itself, celebrating its incredible texture, mass, and size (I was so immersed in the rock, I didn't even include the lighthouse in the scene!). The rock is a marvel, a unique mix of dark and light crystals creating rich texture. Dark ribbons of metamorphic rock slice through, forming distinct shapes and blocks. The colour palette is primarily cool hues of whites, blues, and greys, with a few touches of muted burnt sienna.

I had to work quickly because the weather was shifting and the wind was picking up; dark clouds in the sky, painted with wide, active, visible brushstrokes, portray this dynamic shift. In fact, visible brushstrokes are present throughout the entire painting, contributing to its raw energy. 

I began on a previously toned panel, scrubbing in the darkest darks to establish the deepest shadows and act as an anchor for the rest of my values. I followed with the mid-tones using thicker paint, getting some opacity and further defining the main shapes. Then I added the lights, leaving the brightest highlights for the end. I also experimented with a Maroger medium in the water to achieve a unique texture, as this medium helps hold the brushstokes in place creating a broken colour effect.

I'm particularly happy with the energy and excitement I was able to portray; it encapsulates the invigorating feeling of painting on site amidst nature's raw power.