Landscapes, Seascapes, Sunsets — gouache painting by Ray Patrick
Sea and sky at dusk with no incident in either — a bank of cloud, the water beneath it, and one pale line where the light catches the surface.
Horizontal bands stacked across the full width, unequal in depth and parallel to the frame. There is no vertical anywhere and no focal point; the eye is held by the bands themselves.
Mauve and plum through the cloud, going to cobalt and periwinkle in the water, with one seam of hot rose along the horizon. A single stroke of pale cream marks the lit water and is the lightest thing in the picture.
Short horizontal strokes laid shoulder to shoulder, each a separate loaded touch, so every band is a weave rather than a flat fill. Nothing is blended and no edge is softened.
Gouache on paper. Opaque and matte throughout; the pale seam sits over the darker water as a solid body. A white margin runs round the painted area.
Lower right, raypatrick, in cobalt over the dark water, letters touching.