Travel Sketches #1: Barbados Seascape

In 2007, my family and I visited the beautiful island of Barbados. As is my custom on these trips to the small islands, I packed my small Reeves Sketch Book, Watersoluble pencils, Paints and Brushes. Vacations are meant for relaxing, and nothing relaxes me more than time spent with art. Also sometimes a good book on the beach is not enough. On this particular trip, I carried a canvas board, having only discovered them a few months before and was dying to try it out.

What stood out to me the most on my trip were the beautiful blue beaches of Barbados. I swear, if I had to choose another island to live on Barbados would be the clear winner. I remember falling in love with Port St Charles, and fantasying of living in one of the homes where I could open my back door and step onto my boat or take a dive into the ocean.

The following is the painting that I started while in Barbados that I ended up finishing in T&T from the postcard I bought. I unfortunately do not remember which beach this was! I think at the time settled on doing this seascape, because it was a breathtaking view and the process was unfamiliar to me. I always wanted to capture the different shades the ocean turns when light reflects off of it but I thought it to be completely outside of my comfort zone so this piece was a personal challenge for the holidays.

Barbados Seascape (2007), Acrylic on Canvas Board. © 2012 Shazanna Khan