Ocean Dawn, 8x8 Oil on Canvas

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While ice storms are predicted today for much of the country, I get to see scenes like this while walking on the beach. I am very fortunate. I was interviewed after winning a competition and was asked, "Where in the whole world would you most like to live?" After thinking for a moment I responded, "Right here." I like to think I have always known when I was well off. 

Near the Shore, 6x6 Oil Painting

The light, color, and movement of the ocean is different every day, and I never tire of walking on the beach and studying it. I used to live in the Azores, where people would sit by a wall and just stare out at the sea. I thought they were dreaming of escaping their small island and going somewhere else, but maybe they were just doing what I do--watching the ocean.

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Spring Wave, 6x6 Oil on Canvas

Back to a tiny painting. This is painted for the Oklahoma Tornado Fundraiser, at auction on DailyPaintworks.com. This is a brief dip in the ocean, before I return to Sedona with one of those sunsets that don't look real. Check out the fundraiser, you might see something you'd like and contribute to the tornado victims at the same  time.

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On the Upside, 6x6 Oil on Canvas Panel

"Ocean"

Upside down, "Whitewater"

This is two paintings in one. Rightside up, it is an ocean scene. Turn it upside down, it is whitewater in a river. I am feeling very original today. This can be set on a little easel, or if framed, put two hooks on the back of the frame, and you have an absolutely unique work of art. What fun!

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Seamist, 48x24 Oil on Canvas

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This is our very own Satellite Beach, on one of those days when sea mists are rising. This was a commission, 48 inches wide by 24 high. Our beach never looks the same way twice; it changes color, shape, and after a particularly rough surf, sizeable rocks appear that were never there before. I love it all, except when hurricanes take a great deal of the beach away with them. 

Morning Sunrise, 10x10 Oil on Canvas

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Have any of you artists ever painted something, then been bothered by it every time you look at it? This is the updated version of this painting. In the first version (below) there were just too many things going in conflicting directions, which jarred me every time I saw it. I have a problem of painting what I see, and sometimes you just have to change what you see to make a painting.

I reworked the painting, toned down the vertical reflection, and made the sunrise part warmer. Our flashy sunrises in Florida can look very contrived and unreal, and caution is needed to avoid a "painting on black velvet" look. We can't help it if our sunrises are fabulous here.

Sealight Diptych, 20x10 Oil on Canvas

 After painting these separately, I realized they should hang together as a diptych. It just took a few adjustments to match them up, since I had painted each part of the wave from the same picture. It is painted on deep-sided gallery wrapped canvas and painted on all sides, so hung together or separately, it still works. No frame needed.

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And God Set a Bow in the Sky, 20x20 Oil on Canvas

A few weeks ago I posted the photo of this scene. I was so excited when the rainbow made an appearance, although it's risky to paint rainbows. They can look fake; sunrises are the same way. Some sunrises are so spectacular here that no one would find a painting of them believable. I tried to faithfully reproduce the rainbow in an understated way. The photo is below; you can see that I made a few changes in my painting.

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And God Set A Bow in the Sky (Photo)

Sometimes I look out and see interesting weather effects and I can hear the waves crashing, so I rush across to the beach with my camera. I am frequently rewarded with sights like this. I am wondering: if I painted this, including the rainbow, would it be believable?

Can you tell I haven't had time to paint? I have had time for family gatherings in celebration of the holidays, so I'm not complaining. Just having some withdrawals. You artists know what I mean.

Morning Sea, 4x5 Oil on Canvas

I went small on this one. I love the colors of the sky and ocean in the morning. Sometimes they don't even look real.

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The Pieces of 8 had a wonderful luncheon this week and exchanged our very creative gifts. Here's the happy group:

Sealight II, 10x10 Oil on Canvas

This is the other end of the wave I posted previously. The color is completely different from my first one, because I was painting in different light. Also, I painted the first painting from my iPad and this one from a photo. I am painting in the square format on gallery-wrapped canvas for an upcoming show, so I cropped the wave and got two paintings from one wave.

I painted this at yesterday's Pieces of 8 Holiday Sale. We had such a great day, the paintings were flying from the shelves! We sold a great variety of things, and our black-and-white mix-n-match earrings were a huge hit. Kudos to Kathy Garvey for that smart idea! One customer came twice, and said she can't wait until next year.

Sealight, 10x10 Oil on Canvas

This wave posed nicely for me the other day, and I enjoyed painting it. I noticed the sky was doing interesting things and I could hear the waves from my house, so I rushed over to the beach and got some very nice shots. This will be displayed in my exhibit next month at the Art and Antique Gallery in  the Eau Gallie Art District in Melbourne, Florida. My exhibit is called "From Highland to Island," and I will have paintings of subjects from the mountains to the sea.

Sea Change, 10x10 Oil on Canvas

A rough sea is a joyous thing for me as a subject for painting. I love the colors, the shapes, the movement. This is a 10x10 original oil on gallery wrapped canvas and painted on all sides.

My posting of originals has been erratic of late because of vacation and then illness. We have now had a loss of a beloved family member, and I am giving myself permission to take some time off from painting and be with my loved ones who are grieving. 

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Moving Sea, 10x8 Oil on Canvas Seascape

The ocean changes constantly. Every time I walk over to the beach the water looks different, and I love the ebb and flow as it meets the sand. Even the rocks seem different somehow. Are they changing too? The water gets pretty powerful, especially in hurricane season, the dread of every Floridian (shudder). Maybe that power is moving the rocks around. Why not?

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Ocean Shadow, 18x24 Oil on Canvas

It amazes me that the colors of the ocean are different every day. Sometimes this same view is quite turquoise, but that would be on a calm and sunny day. Other times the sunrises are so vibrant that it's no use to paint them as they really look--they just don't look real.

All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the the streams flow, there they flow again. 

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Ecclesiastes 1:7

Ocean View, 5x7 Oil on Canvas

Every now and then it's time to paint a seascape. This one is small, but I am working on a large one for an exhibit in November. I just love the motion of the ocean.

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Big Splash, 8x10

I've traveled a lot this Fall, and I hardly know what to paint next. This is a view from the cliffs of Prout's Neck, Maine, Winslow Homer's stomping ground. It's so much more dramatic than our beach here in Florida, except during hurricanes.

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Homage to Hokusai, 8x10 Oil on Canvas Board

This is a nod to the great Japanese artist Hokusai, who created The Great Wave of Kanagawa in the 1800s. There have been as many reproductions of The Great Wave as there have been of the Smiley Face. This was the second in my series exhibited at the "Agua" show in Melbourne, Florida.

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Maine Wave, 8x10 Oil on Canvas Board

My plucky sister and I walked the cliff walk around Prout's Neck, Maine, and it was hallowed ground. Winslow Homer's footsteps trod upon the same path, and I was trying to channel Homer when I painted this. It was a very rough trek in places, but oh, so beautiful. The rocks are so black and the sea so blue. Homer's studio is 75 feet from the sea. It's being redone, so we didn't get to go inside.

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Splash, 5x7, Oil on Linen on Panel

It was an overcast day at Sebastian Inlet, which in the heat of summer makes it very pleasant. The waves--away from the rocks--were perfect for frolicking. As I am posting this, we are watching Hurricane Irene and making preparations for possible evacuation. I hope we will soon be saying, "Good Night, Irene" as she passes far offshore. Anything could happen, we just wait and watch.

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