Waiting

Waiting

Oil on Canvas, 16x20

This painting is a view of Jax Beach at mid-day.  The tide is low and the long, flat beach is being washed gently by the incoming tide, and the seagulls wait for whatever the waves and the day may bring.

This painting was completed in 2011.  I had it hanging in my Sunday School classroom for years, but when COVID hit and the class was merged with others, I took it home, put it aside, and forgot about it.

I'm bringing this painting out of storage, and it is worthy of being back up on my wall.

Invitation

Invitaton

Acrylic on canvas, 11x14

In the summer, the waves often come in long, straight lines so close together that they seem to collapse at the beach on top of each other. As the sun rises to mid-morning, the light is behind the waves and paints the water as if it were lit from within by a green fire. The soft wind and the gentle waves offer their invitation to come and join them in the foam.

After the Storm

Pastel on sanded Arches watercolor paper

Size - 29 x 21 1/2

Completed 9-8-2009

I have this painting on a bedroom wall - it's been there for years.  I have brought it out for reference and inspiration for work I'm currently doing.  Photo was updated 9/4/2026.

In May of 2009, Jacksonville Beach was hit with an unusually intense storm. After the storm had passed, I made a few sketches and took several reference photos of the waves. When I had done a preliminary pastel paining, "After the Storm - a Study in Waves" which pleased me very much, I rendered this work on a full sheet of Arches paper.

This scene intrigues me because of the complex directions and patterns of the waves, the subtlety of the veiled sunlight on the stormy water, and the churned sand near the beach.

While this is not at all a daily painting, I have listed it for reference.

Rick Petersen