Alright, so the other day, I got this itch, you know? I just felt like painting something, and the Sea of Galilee popped into my head. No big reason, really, just felt like a good subject. I'd seen some pictures, and it looked like it could be a decent challenge with all that water and sky.
Getting Started
First thing I did was dig out my paints. Got my blues, greens, a good bit of white, some yellows – the usual stuff. I figured the water would need a lot of different shades. I also pulled up some images online, just to refresh my memory of what it actually looks like. You see all sorts, from super calm to quite choppy. Funny enough, I remembered that super famous painting, "The Storm on the Sea of Galilee," the one that got stolen. Imagine, that thing was bought way back in 1898, I think, and then poof, gone in 1990 from that museum in Boston. Still missing! Crazy. My painting wasn't aiming for that kind of drama or value, obviously. Just me, some brushes, and a canvas.
Putting Paint on Canvas
I grabbed a canvas, not too massive, and sketched out a basic horizon. I tried to keep in mind that this sea, it’s in northeast Israel, kind of nestled down in the Jordan Rift Valley, with the Golan Heights on one side and the Galilee region on the other. I wanted to try and get that feeling of it being enclosed a bit, not just open ocean. So, I started slapping on some color for the sky. Mixed up some blues, added a touch of grey to give it some depth. Then, I moved on to the hills in the distance.
The water, though, that was the main event. That was tough. It’s a big body of water, so it can get pretty lively. I wasn’t trying to paint a massive storm like Rembrandt did, but I wanted some movement, some life in it. I spent a good while just dabbing and blending, trying to get the light to look right on the surface. You know how water reflects the sky but also has its own color? Yeah, that. It took a few tries, and at one point, it just looked like a blue blob. Had to step away, make a cup of tea, and come back to it. My darker blues were disappearing fast!
Working Through It
I kept working on those distant hills, trying to make them look a bit hazy, like they were far off. Added some touches of green because, from what I've seen, it's not all desert around there. It’s a pretty important place, that sea.
I wasn't really aiming for a perfect photo-realistic copy. It was more about getting the mood, you know? The feeling of the place. I just kept layering colors, adding highlights here and there, trying to make the waves look a bit like waves. Sometimes I’d get a bit frustrated, thinking, "This isn't looking right at all!" But then I’d fiddle with it a bit more, and a section would start to come together.
Calling it Done
After a good few hours, I just kind of… stopped. You reach that point where if you touch it anymore, you’ll probably mess it up. So, I put my brushes down. Took a step back. It’s not going to win any awards, that’s for sure. It’s got its rough spots. But, you know what? It’s my version of the Sea of Galilee. It was a good session. Good practice, especially with the water and trying to get that light. I learned a few things about mixing my blues and greens, that’s for sure. It's now sitting on a shelf, a little reminder of an afternoon spent just painting.
