Seacliff Beach Birds Gather together

"The Gathering"
24 X 30 oil painting
Seacliff Beach, Aptos, CA

The brilliant colors that dance across the water and beach  at sunset are tantalizing. The hues vary as the sun gets lower in the sky and finally disappears below the horizon. Once it disappears the afterglow continues to paint a beautiful scene for anyone who lingers. One thing I love is the gathering of seabirds that seem to come out for sunset each evening. In the painting above using a blue orange harmony, I wanted to create a warm and inviting aura with the birds bathed in the warmth of the setting sun. Their casual meandering is calm and unhurried representing a  sense of another day's satisfactory completion.  

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" Seabirds at Sunset"
24x36 oil painting
Aptos, CA

In this version of birds gathering on the beach at dusk, I was drawn to the color harmonies and repetition of the skies  colors in the wet sand. The zig zag diagonals in the wet sand leading to the pounding surf  echo the sounds and energy that I felt in this scene. A large gathering of birds scurried about in the last lit section of the beach taking in the final rays of the January sun. I used a limited palette on a very large canvas. My goal is to achieve a painting that reflects the  multiple senses that are being bombarded at the time; The harmonious colors, the salty spray, the tumultuous surf, the fading sunlight and the wet sand.
 

Surf's Up!

Roar of the Surf 30x40 Oil

     Visiting my daughter in CA always leads to a new painting. Her home at Seacliff in Aptos gives me constant access to the beautiful beach and surf. She works and I paint. When I get back to MA,  I use my photos and sketches to paint big. In this painting I wanted to portray a sense of the power of the waves as they crashed onto the shore. The surf, with it's multiple layers of waves and criss crossing currents, are fascinating to watch and they command a respect for the force they unleash. The sunlight provides a sculptural effect to the ephemeral forms as they roar in and transform into spindrift and then wash out again.  I used a limited palette with a cloudless sky so that the viewer would focus on the surf and the myriad subtleties of colors within the blues. I hope it evokes a sense of sound as one imagines the senses at this place and time.

Making Memories

 Trips to California to visit my daughter always inspire new work. Living on separate coasts makes every visit special. We don't get to see each other too often, so each trip is a memory maker.

"Sharing the Moment"  16x20 OIL

Before my daughter leaves for work in the morning, a beach walk starts the day. After work, watching the sunset is a ritual for us. During the day I descend the steep cliff to paint on the beach while she is gone. Other days I paint from the top of Seacliff. The colors are amazing and always changing.  The colors are reflected in the water and wet sand and move with the rhythm of the sea. The sounds vary depending on the wind and surf. Along with artists and photographers there are couples, people with families, or with pets and sometimes just a solo person. The desire to experience and share with someone the beach magic seems universal. I love to capture these moments both to share with others and to internalize the beauty that each of these experiences brings. 

Another Beach perspective...

JOY! 9x12 oil
Depending on where I park myself at the beach, I can view sunsets as a totally different experience each night. In this painting, I moved a short way up the beach from the previous post's painting. The pier creates a foil for the sunset. The vertical posts, unmoving against the horizontal landscape with it's constantly changing elements provides me with contrasting elements for my painting. The reflection of the pier in the water embodies that contrast. I chose to do only a small section of the pier to focus on the sun at the dramatic moment when it starts to disappear. As the waves crash under the pier, they dissolve into the shadows and then reappear as they approach the viewer. The meandering lines of the reflection, the edge of the receding water against the dark sand and the intensity of the colors in the foreground are used to lead the viewer back toward the drama of the setting sun.

The Beauty of Nature

"Mesmerized " 24x30 gallery wrap/Oil

Sometimes on an evening walk I just stop and watch the waves. The beauty and the sounds of nature are mesmerizing.  The power of the waves and the patterns of the spindrift leave me in awe as I absorb each crashing moment. Cloud banks low in the sky let the luminous colors peek through. the color dances off the water while the light illuminates the tops of the waves. I let the distant water fade out of focus to keep the viewers eye on the wave and focus on details in the foreground to bring to bring the viewer to the moment at hand. The sky peeks through the clouds above signaling another day gone by. This painting was all about capturing the mood of the moment.

Another evening in Aptos

Beach Solitude 16x20 oil

 When I visit, waiting for my daughter to get home from work provides me with a perfect ending to each day. I walk the beach in front of her home and watch the colors that swirl and change as the sun gets closer to the horizon. The colors reflect in the wet sand and water. The sounds of the waves accent the patterns of the water as it advances and recedes.  The distant shore in Capitola becomes an amorphous shape silhouetted against the horizon. Although I have painted the same scene many times, no two are alike. I am enchanted and enjoy the solitude and time for reflection this ritual provides.

A Perfect Ending to the Day

"Day's End",Aptos, CA 12x16 oil

Visiting my daughter since she moved to California has opened up a new plethora of painting possibilities. Her location is perfect for me, a beach lover. While she is at work during the day I can load up my painting gear on her bike and head to different locations along the beach or high on the cliffs overlooking the beaches. Whether it is early morning or late in the day, the sky and water are always dramatic. During the day the beach visitors provide varied additional subject matter. No two days are ever the same and the beauty is always present. This view from Seacliff Beach looking towards Capitola provided an uncluttered composition to focus on the intensity of the experience as the sun went down. I tried to capture the water's movement and undulating colors while implying to the viewer the sounds and smells that accompanied my experience.