Morning in the Dunes

Morning in the Dunes

Acrylic on canvas panel 8x10

Behind the beach at Talbot Island, the dunes march away one behind the other.  No clear path through them can be seen.  In the early morning, the pink and gold colors of the sky push back the lavenders of the night. The dark cedars and scrub brush begin to awaken to the day.

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.

Marker Palm

Pastel, 9x6 on UArt

This lonely palm tree standing against the stiff breezes makes a special landmark next to the trail through the dunes.  When I would walk on the beach I always knew the way back by this "marker palm."
 

Dune Passage in Summer

Watercolor and Ink on paper, 5x7

This is a variation of an old passage through the dunes.  In the midday summer sun, the light is bright but diffused, and the perfect time for a stroll on the beach.

Cedars and Muhly Grass

Cedars and Muhly Grass

 Pastel on Sanded Paper, 6x9

This quick exercise that started with a "spontaneous" watercolor, and it evolved into this study of cedar trees and muhly grass on the dunes.  As it progressed, it took a life of its own.  In order to correct weaknesses in the basic composition, I added the path, extended the pink muhly grass and moved the cedar tree to the left and back.  I had to abandon much of the native color to get the values and movement in the painting to work.

Stormy Day

Stormy Day

Mixed Media on watercolor paper 5x7.

My objective was to capture the dunes and sea oats on a cloudy day when the colors and values are somewhat muted. I started out as an link and watercolor wash but the colors and values did not work. I tried to fix it with gouache and created some really flat, dull, lifeless forms. Pastel to the rescue! The result in truly mixed media accomplished what I wanted.

Dune Sweep

Ink and Watercolor wash, 7x5

The constant wind sweeps the dunes moving the sand ever and ever on, but the lines of sea oats hold the dune in place.  Their sculpted edges and shifting shadows are an ever-changing work of art.
To purchase this painting, click here.

Palm 2

Palm 2

Line and Watercolor Wash

The palms that grow on the back side of the beach dunes seem to never rest as the sea breeze wafts and waves their fronds.  I use the pen with it's fine line for the details I need while I use the watercolor wash to add the abstraction that gives the painting life.

Palm 1

Palm 1 

Line and Watercolor Wash

This view of a palm on the beach dunes with sea oats is the foundation for an expression of the feeling of chill and the smell of the salt air on a windy, overcast day.  The pen with it's fine line gives me the details I need while the watercolor wash leads to the abstraction that gives the painting life.

Circumstances have kept me from my studio and from pastels.  In the interim, I have been painting with ink and watercolor washes.  

Dunes and Muhly Grass

First View - 6x6

Second View - 6x9

Third View - 6x9

Fourth View - 6x8

Dunes at St. Augustine Beach, October - reference photo

4 Pastels from one photo - various sizes.

These small paintings were the result of a personal project. I set myself the task to draw different compositions from one photo taking the liberty to add or subtract elements and color to support the composition.
The original photo is one of several taken the same day at St. Augustine Beach.  They were taken in October and the muhly grass was ablaze with color.  This particular view did not include the broad swathes of pink grass, so I took the liberty to add it in my own sketches for color and drama.
The results speak for themselves.  There are innumerable paintings in almost any photo if we take the time to dig them out and let our imagination run loose.

Last Rays

Pastel, 12x18

After a cloudy, rainy afternoon, the clouds move off to the east and the sun breaks through as it sets.  A final ray of bright sunlight ignites the top of the dune setting the wet sand and grass aflame with color while the rest of the dunes lie in quiet awe to support the grandeur.

To purchase this work, please contact me by e-mail or click here to visit my web site

First Rays

Pastel, 9x12 on UArt

The idea and inspiration of this piece was the way that early morning sun kisses the tops of the dunes and paints the tallest grass with golden light. The air and the sand are still calm and cool, blue, and quiet, but the sun makes the promise of a bright, hot day ahead.

This painting is a rework of a previous piece, "Path 6."  I liked the first painting, but it had no clear central idea or focus, so I started reworking it.  I raised the horizon because everyone knows where the beach and surf lie.  I reworked the composition and cranked up the values and contrasts in color and temperature.  The more I worked it the less remained of the original painting - in fact the sky is the only element that seems to have survived, and that got a little more color.

Up and Over, Path 3

Pastel, 6x9 on UArt

This is another of my current path project series.
I have been often inspired by the memories of the old paths through the dunes to the beach.  Over the years, the dunes have moved, and boardwalks have been built, but the memories linger of those golden mornings with the sandy path lying pristine, clear of footprints, over the dunes leading to the expectations of the day.
To purchase this painting, please contact me.

Hot Sand, Path 6

Pastel, 9x12 on UArt

This painting is number six in my "path project," but it has been completely reworked under a new name "First Rays."  

I'm leaving this photo up for reference, but this painting no longer exists.

Dune Morning

Pastel, 12x16

This old path between the dunes leading to the beach has always inspired me.  The softness of the warm sand, the gentle green of the shrubs and sea oats, the beach all to yourself, and endless horizon over the water - what more would you want?

You can purchase this painting by clicking here. "Dune Morning"

Breezes

Pastel 9x6 

This small painting was inspired by the atmosphere of the beach when the sea fog moves in with the strong winds of autumn.  The bright colors are swept away and the horizon almost disappears. A few spots of color persist in the shadows, but they are overwhelmed by the brightness of the mid-day.

Cut Bank

Pastel 12x12 on UArt

The wind builds and moves the dunes, but the bushes and grass that grow on them are left behind as the dune erodes beneath them.  As the dune is cut away, the old, gnarled bushes create unique drapery and shadow against the mid-day sun.

This painting received the Judges Special Award at the 2018 First Coast Pastel Society Show.  Thank you Chris Ivers for that recognition.  Here is what Chris said when granting this award:

"Simple yet well thought out composition was the main element that attracted me to this lovely painting of the sand dunes. A calmness falls over me from the artist’s rendition of the warm, gentle sky and sloping white sand while the subtle greenery leads me throughout the painting. Adding to everything is the wonderful use of gray violet in the shadows that kiss the sand to cool some areas for the eye to rest. This painting beckons to follow over the dune to what I imagine as a beach and a peaceful sea. I congratulate the artist for taking me to this lovely place deserving of this extra award."

Afternoon Oats

Digital Tablet Painting

Printed on W/C Paper, 5x7 signed and numbered - ArtRage

On St. Augustine Beach, there is a shallow track, the remains of an abandoned trail that stretches away from the beach into the dunes.  The trail is lined with old, weathered clumps of sea oats that stand in defiance of the elements and hold their golden spikes to the sky.

Bright Oats 1

Digital Tablet Painting

Printed on W/C Paper, 5x7 signed and numbered - ArtRage

As I look across the small dunes and open sand toward the beach, the sparse, open clumps of sea oats make their own statements about the sunlight, the wind, and the heat of summer. It is this expression from St. Augustine Beach / Anastasia Island that I tried to capture.