Lost in Translation!

What do you do when you've made a sketch and think you've captured a sense of place and now want to  translate that into a  painting. How do you capture that initial response? Its worked in the sketchbook, using watercolour, with the view there in front of you. But sometimes the liveliness of the sketch gets lost in translation and the attempt to get the same atmosphere eludes you. 

I'd like to try gouache but decide to use oil paints as I don't seem able yet to capture those brights that were there using gouache. I know its a question of practice to gain the skills. But I'm being impatient and want to paint the painting while my memories of Aird are still fresh. At the same time I'm very wary of starting. It was so green there, that lovely fresh green of May and the seas so blue when the sun actually shone. And that's what I want to paint - those colours with the white houses dotted about the hill. perhaps now I've done this attempt I might feel freer about trying a large version in gouache.

This is the resulting painting, using oil on a 10 x 12" board.

Village of Aird, Skye

Bridget Hunter 2011