Time and Tide

A larger painting that I will be including in my upcoming featured artist slot in a local gallery. I love the feeling of movement and as well the capturing of a feeling of time. There is a sense of both high and low tide; both morning and evening; transparency and reflections.

The shapes of the waves are stylized and rhythmical. The clouds are wind-blown ribbons.

The shapes of the waves turn into fish…

Hints of sea stars, sea anemones, sea weeds and more…

A gull wonders if it’s time to fly off with the others.

Time and Tide (close up detail bottom middle)

Texture, shape and colour. 🙂

Heron Dream

This one is full of the details of life at the ocean’s edge, but it also has the feeling of something allegorical. Although I am not exactly sure I can analyze what the allegory is! The heron – that ancient bird – seems like a sentinel guarding this life. It feels like a sort of ending. An eternal moment frozen.

Heron Dream – detail from the lower left

Heron Dream (detail from the upper left)

By the Shore

Having some fun with oyster catchers and capturing the feeling of the edge between ocean and land. Growing up in Ontario, the idea of tides is something I have had to learn as an adult. It’s fascinating how the shifting water levels shape that edge. I could watch the many creatures that take advantage of this habitat for hours.

Rose Sunset

This is another in my “Skyflowers” series. Having so much fun with this. It’s whimsical and there are so many ways to play with the idea. Here I really like the cascade of roses transforming from cooler to warmer depending on how the sunset would affect them.

Daniel’s Way View

A sunny day back in the spring. I was perched rather precariously on a large rock with my setup. It doesn’t look too bad in the photo, you’ll just have to trust me on that! 😉

The sea looks different every time …and the scudding clouds and the distant mountains too. Looking at a plein air painting always takes me back to the feeling of being in that place at that time, with the feel of the breeze and the smell of the ocean. Looking at this I just remembered I was visited by sea lions while I was painting this one. If they had come much closer, I would have packed up but they stayed down on the rocks off to the right of the frame of this painting. It was pretty magical.

Daniel’s Way View setup – looking not as steep as it actually was!

Brickyard Beach Spring

A pleasant day in late March. The local buffleheads were out – that’s a kind of black and white duck. Plein air painting can be such a wonderful way to connect with the world. Looking at a painting I have done in nature always takes me right back to that moment.

Tom wrote a haiku for this painting celebrating spring …and buffleheads!

bufflehead breezes
wander down island narrows
ruffling spring waters

Brickyard Beach – Late Summer

Early in September I went out with my gear and found another local beauty spot. It was really hot that day! I was glad to find a bit of shade to set up in. The challenge as usual with plein air painting was to catch the light quickly – as well as the colour of the water and the shapes and locations of the clouds before everything changes. The result is less detailed but fresher and more dynamic than working from a photo.

Here is Tom’s poem which at first seems to be for another scene but wait for it – the final couplet tells the tale.

In summer gales these waters roil
as wind and tide and waves contend
for who shall make the sailor’s toil
the worst. And who shall best unmend
the flapping canvas, spliced up rope,
a bimini not made to cope
with gusts that come from angles all
around the compass. Masts might fall
as waves come in from every point.
The bow is bounced, the stern is slewed,
the sky with clouds ascudding’s strewed
as the sea tests every joint.
But in the calm it lies serene
as if those storms were never seen!

Twin Beaches – High Summer

This is a plein air painting from August. The sun was high and warm reflecting back all kinds of glorious colours in the water. I captured a couple of sailboats at anchor as well as a few floating markers. The mountains of the mainland are in the distance. I have a lovely memory of the day when I look at this.

Tom wrote a thoughtful poem that speaks of times long gone the results of which still impact us today.

Upon a time a Spaniard passed this way
anchoring and sending out a brace of boats to sound
the waters all around the quiet bay
where otter, seals, and cod could still be found.
The shore was all alive with other eyes
that watched the strange great ships and wondered where
they had first tasted of sea. What skies
had witnessed their emergence from their lair?
Dark ravens cocked and turned upon the wind
Dark rhymes were brewing in the human heart
Dark beneath the summer sky the sins
of darkness drove the worlds apart.
The ships sailed on, left chaos in their wake
and broken words that promises forsake.

Drumbeg view – summer

Another plein air piece from July. There is a wonderful park along the ocean that I hope to paint many more times. The mood of the sky and water is different every time. This day, the tide was somewhat low showing shallow rocks extending out from shore. A leaning tree, some wave action and a calm sky complete the scene.

Tom wrote another haiku for this one encapsulating in words my memory of painting that afternoon.

somewhere to the south
beyond warm summer mists
passage to the sea

Lingering evening

Wow – what a long beautiful summer evening that was! I painted this en plein air from the deck of our sailboat just a couple of days off the solstice. I thought I would get some wonderful sunset colours but I would have had to wait longer than I felt like. Anyway, the subtle tones are lovely too, I think.

Tom wrote a haiku with an appropriately Zen feeling for this one!

ten thousand years hence
this long summer evening light
will still be here now

Green Tea Doodles

take some time for tea and check out my doodles

ocean