Estuary Memories

Pastel, 14x24 on Lux Archival paper

NOTE - the first photo above is the reworked painting. The original was too gray and blue. It needed some life and color. This morning, (6AM, 6/30/26) I reworked the clouds with 6 pieces of pastel - yellow, orange, pink, and lavender - and added new life into the scene I that inspired me.

The summer afternoon has fallen into stillness as the sea breeze has died, and the tide has just started to fall. In this quiet expectation, the afternoon clouds begin to form and grow with the promise of rain to come.

As I look at this scene, I remember the golden afternoons I’ve spent fishing out there on the water with family and friends. I love to paint scenes that evoke strong memories.

Follow the link for more information.

https://www.rickpetersenartist.com/workszoom/6575424/0596-estuary-memories#/

Anastasia Dune Escape

Anastasia Dune Escape

Line and Wash on paper, 7x10 inches

I often return to some of my favorite photographs because they bring back memories that I can capture in a painting.  The photographs that inspired this painting were taken on a plein air outing to Anastasia State Park.  The tallest dunes separate a broad expanse of marsh and low dunes from the beach itself, and those dunes often look like a wall holding me back.  When I “escape” through the dunes by the hidden path, I come out on the broad expanse flat beach, ocean, and endless horizon.

As I look again at these beautiful dunes, I ask myself what adventures wait for me when I escape the dunes to the beach beyond.

This sense of expectation is what I wanted to capture with the solid growth of new sea oats and the suggestion of a white, sandy, path through the dunes.

26A003 - Dune Breezes ACEO

ACEO - Dune Breezes

Ink and Watercolor on Archival Paper - 3.5x2.5 - ACEO

This bright, little ACEO painting captures a view of the dunes that stand next to the beach.  The sea breezes keep the long seed heads dancing as the clouds and seagulls race past on the wind.

This is an original painting, not a print.

ACEO - Patty's Cassia

26A002 - ACEO, Patty's Cassia

ACEO - 3.5x2.5 - Acrylic on Watercolor Paper

Every autumn, the cassia bushes put on a spectacular show of bright yellow flowers against clear green foliage.  A spray of these in a small crystal vase brings the sunshine inside.

Painting is acrylic on archival paper, 3.5x2.5 inches.

Original art, signed by the artist on the reverse.

I will praise the name of God with a song.
I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
Psalm 69:30

26A001 - Line and Wash Beach Sunrise - ACEO

26A001 - ACEO

ACEO - line and watercolor on archival paper

This ACEO (2.5x3.5) painting is an original, line and wash view of the dunes and sea oats looking across the beach to the sea and morning clouds.  I love the freshness of the unmarked sand with the breeze from the water before the heat of the day.

I have included a photo of the painting in my hand and an image of the reverse with my signature and a Bible verse - "The joy of the Lord is my strength."  Nehemiah 8:10.

This painting is available on eBay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/327051540570 - copy and paste the link.  Thanks.

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I greatly appreciate your comments.  Thank you.

 

Pastel 12x18 on UArt

This painting is my memory and interpretation of a view of the estuary marsh in the late summer afternoon. The clouds are starting to build and rain will soon follow.

Let me know what you think - let's talk about art.

For full details, click on the link - thanks:

https://www.rickpetersenartist.com/.../expectations-ii...

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