Sailing on, single-handed: Attitude

A New Dawn 26 X 33 cm © Elizabeth Tyler 2017

I began to paint this watercolour of the view from my cockpit while anchored in the bay of Dokos island in Greece. The sun was about to rise and sent a bright yellow glow across the sky, splitting up the dark clouds of the night. The hills were still in darkness but it was possible to see the sparse vegetation on the slopes. The sea reflected some of the light that was promising to brighten the day.

The anchorage at Dokos just before dawn.

When I started the painting I was in a very sad and pensive mood, absorbed in deep and serious thought about my life. I was soon to leave my boat, my friends and Greece for the year and, at this age, could not know for certain if I would ever return. Not only was the summer but also, I felt then, a period of my life over. I painted the clouds even darker than they were and the hills as silhouettes in ivory black. The sea was only suggested with a few strokes of grey.

After returning home to Sweden I left the painting out of sight for a couple of months. I considered it a worthless failure, which also reflected my mood at the time. However after gradually and step by step regaining a grip on myself I took the painting up again and used it as a kind of therapy. I lightened the clouds, brightened the details and created more light by washing the darkness away.

A promising new year was about to begin.

I thought about attitude in general.

Either you only see the threatening clouds, the dark landscape and the murky water, or you see something quite different;

The promising sunlight, the warm glow, the fascinating landscape and the refreshing water.

It’s the same scene but it’s your choice how you look at it.