Peace at Mid-Day

Peace at Mid-Day

Pastel on self-sanded board: 11x15

At midday in the heat of summer, the morning breeze dies away before the sea breeze picks up, and a sense of peace and stillness settles over the salt marsh.  Even the ceaseless tide seems to stop.  The clouds begin to gather, and the sun is partially hidden as a hazy light invades the deep shadows under the trees.  A softness settles on the grasses turning their greens into gold and yellow as a hint of the autumn soon to come.

This is a rework of an old painting.  I touched it up to give it new life.

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.