Winter Rain

Winter Rain 

Pastel on UArt - 12x18

I was inspired by a painting I had completed a few years ago, but the design and atmosphere of the smaller painting inspired me to give it a larger treatment.  The original was done with warm grays for the approach of a summer storm, but since it is winter now, I wanted to give the painting a sense of the coming cold using a cooler, more blue palette.

My goal was to retain the loose, billowy clouds and add a touch of drama by using my strokes to indicate a sense of the on-rushing storm.  I wanted to contrast that movement with the perfect stillness of the beach by keeping the reflections on the wet sand smooth capturing the color of the clouds without the movement.

Here is the original painting for comparison - "Rain Coming" 9x12" pastel on UArt.

Rain Coming

Surf in Dawn Colors

 Surf in Dawn Colors, 6x6 Pastel

I am always intrigued by the silver and lavender of the early morning surf on the beach.  A few gulls have joined the party looking for breakfast in the 

First Visitors, pastel 12x18, beach scene, sunrise, after rain

First Visitors

Pastel, 12x18 on UArt sanded paper

The rain has passed, and the sun is coming up painting the sky and water with vivid colors. The first visitors on the beach are rewarded with a special display of color and the pristine surface of the sand.  Even the seagulls are content to wait and enjoy the beauty of the dawn.

Reaching

Pastel, 16x16

In the early morning, the rising clouds seem to reach across the sky stretching toward the rising sun.  The stillness and seamless reflections at low tide dramatize the broken, ragged clouds.

This painting is available click here: Web Page - Reaching

Daybreak

Pastel 20x24 on UArt

The showers of the night are passing and the dark clouds begin to scatter.  Just before the sun breaches the horizon, the clouds cast their soft colors in glorious reflections on the broad, wet sand.

Early Evening

Pastel, 9x12 on UArt

With the departing day, the sunset over the beach and water rewards the few who remain into the evening.

Stages

Pastel, 9x6 on UArt

In the afternoon, the early summer clouds begin to move in from the southwest in stages. They march in by ranks, each new bank of clouds running into the sea breeze until they finally pile up, overcome the breeze with their numbers, and move on past the beach.

Expectations

Pastel, 9x12

In the early morning, as the tide starts to move in, the sea gulls gather expecting the waves to bring them breakfast.  I selected this one gull from among many because of his frozen, unmoving gaze, expecting good things for the day.

Nocturne in Blue

Pastel, 6x9 on UArt

The full moon paints the dark clouds with light from within.  As Moses wrote, this is "the lesser light to rule the night" (Genesis 1:16).
This painting began as a study in composition.  I am trying to incorporate Edgar Payne's composition patterns that work with the unbroken horizontal lines of the Florida beaches.  My first efforts have been with what Payne calls the "steel yard" composition which is a balance between large and small vertical elements on opposite sides of the painting.  In order to simplify the elements, I selected a moon-lit night scene.  I wanted the clouds to form the two important structures and the reflection of the moon to serve as the fulcrum on which the elements are balanced. 
"Nocturne in Blue" - sold the day it was painted.

My Tern Yet?

Pastel, 11x15 on Wallis

This royal tern was standing with a flock of gulls waiting for the tide to come in, and for some reason all the gulls flew away.  The tern looked at me as if to say, "Is it my turn to go?"  That's where the idea for the title came from.
The sun was low and behind clouds, so there was no direct light on my subject and no distinct shadows were cast, but the electric blue of the high, mid-day sky overhead made the reflections come alive.

Beach Rain

Pastel, 6x9 on UArt

Number 12 of '21 in 21' Cloud Challenge

As the summer rain stops and the thunder dies away to the southeast, the beach lies deserted, glistening and renewed.  With the tide out, the reflections of the passing clouds stretch smooth, clear, and undisturbed by wave or footprint.
To purchase this painting, visit my web page: Beach Rain