Virtual Paintout - Malta - July 2017 (first stages)

First stage of a 13x18cm oil painting
of the harbour at Marsaxlokk
(private colleciton, Naples)

I didn't want to miss the Virtual Paintout in Malta so I spent the last weekend of the month travelling through the country in Google Street View. I had barely started the above seascape when I discovered an unusual beach with rectangular bassins further up the coast.  (Street View Link)

A sign read :

" Do not pass or stroll through Salt Pans. 

Do not litter in Salt Pans. 

Do not wash clothes or anything in Salt Pans.” 

This was intriguing so I checked a few Internet sites and found out that salt production was an ancient industry in Malta, probably dating back to Roman times. The process involves leaving sea water to evaporate in "pans" (the flat areas) until the salt residue can be collected and moved to storage areas on higher ground. 

In my sketch below, tourists are visiting the Kwejni Salt Pans:

"The Salt Pans"

Coloured pencil in 20.7x29.6cm sketchbook