Description
The day was overcast but every once in a while the light would break through. There are strange contrast when you paint by the sea. Keeping sand off the palette is an important part of the whole operation. In addition, seeing clearly through reflected lights of the sand can make it difficult to see.
Because it was early, though, I could see clearly the nuances of color modified by lovely grays. Silvery and fleshy gray create unity in this painting. Interestingly the tonal ground I began with was a warm gold mixed with raw sienna, yellow ochre, and ivory black. You can see it shining through in the lower right hand corner of the painting betwixt the grasses. The organic unity of this painting brings a real sense of peace, and gives me great satisfaction as a painter. I feel I hit just the right tone or pitch to show this interaction in nature, the way that sea oats and grasses hang and whisper above the sand in a slight breeze on the Atlantic.
When I paint I observe with sensitivity the essences of concrete things in real spaces and how these passages of air around form sing of true beauty, and whisper of an even deeper resonance possible in a new heaven and new earth.
