Ocean Sunsets

Ocean Dreaming
oil on canvas, 24x24

Sunsets over the ocean provide an endless variety of painting material, especially when there are clouds.  As the sun dipped behind the clouds, I saw many reflections and splashes of color on the water.  This is a view of the Gulf of Mexico, which usually has more greenish-blue, but on this evening I saw some purples and greys as the light faded.

Light On The Water

Edge of the Sea
oil on canvas 14x11

Painting, for me, is ultimately about painting the light.  When I paint a scene, I am seeking to express what light symbolizes.  Light can evoke love, truth, peace, and timelessness.  I chase the light with my paintbrushes and camera, ready for those moments when the land, water and living things in front of me are bathed in light.  I prefer painting the romantic light of early morning and evening.  I often focus on scenes with water and reflections, such as sea and sky.  While I watch and study, the ordinary world around me is transformed by light into the sublime.  I seek to share poetic and mysterious moments with my art.  My goal is to transcend literal representation and express the spirit and spark of life in nature and living things.  I see myself not as an imitator of the natural world, but an interpreter of it.  My art is a way to share my inspiration and appreciation with whoever stops to look.

Sailboats in Sarasota Bay

Tranquil Morning
Oil on panel, 11x14

I returned to one of my favorite view of Sarasota Bay - from Island Park near O'Leary's and Marina Jacks.  It was a cloudy morning, and the water looked like a pale greenish-blue.  This study shows the softness of the morning light, and expresses the tranquility of the scene.  Painting at the same location many times has helped me improve my sailboat paintings.

More Dune Paintings

Wandering Paths
Oil, 10x8

Even though I get tired of paintings of sand, dunes and grasses on the beach, I feel like doing one once in a while.  Here is a plein air study from South Lido Beach in Sarasota, Florida.  I captured the reddish glow on the sand, and the dark blue tone in the water.  This is what it looked like early in the morning.  I haven't been to Lido Beach for a while.  There are two beautiful areas of the park - the Intercoastal view and the Gulf view.   It is one of my favorite places to paint but it is a little bit of a drive for me.

Painting a Backlit Scene

Early Morning Glow
Oil on panel, 14x11

Here is a backlit scene painted on site at Ken Thompson Park in Sarasota, Florida.  It was around 8:45 in the morning, and I was facing into the light.  The buildings and boats were surrounded with dazzling light and reflections.  When painting a backlit scene, I use more greys because the objects appear as silhouettes.  Painting white objects backlit by strong light is tricky because the white areas are actually darker than the surrounding light.  In this painting, I used lavender-grey on the whitest boats.  I added a little cadmium yellow to the white paint in the reflections.  This also creates contrast of warm (white & yellow) against cool (white & lavender) areas.  I kept the edges as soft as possible, especially on the buildings in the background.  This helps create the illusion of light surrounding the objects.  My main objective when I began this painting was to create a feeling of unity of light and atmosphere throughout the entire painting.

Venice Beach

Venice Beach Tower
Oil on panel, 8x10

Venice Beach in Venice, Florida has a sea-green life tower.  Sea-green is one of my favorite colors.  This was an early morning view with soft, pinkish light on the sand and grasses.  Venice, Florida is a quiet city close to several beautiful beaches.

Quick Plein Air Paintings

Across The Sand
oil on panel, 7x5

Along The Beach
oil on panel, 7x5

Many of my plein air studies are small, quick, paintings  I like to get an impression down without a lot of detail.  I'm more interested in expressing feelings and a general sense of place and time of day.  If I want more than that, I will work on a larger piece in my studio from studies, drawings, and photos.  In both of these paintings I was drawn to the view of the water behind the patches of grasses and sand.  These paintings were done at Manasota Beach in Englewood, Florida.