Sea Oats

Every summer my family goes on vacation to Nags Head NC for one of our favorite weeks of the year and for precious time spent with family from literally all over the globe.   This view is from the mid-level balcony of our beach house.  

While arguably a beautiful view, especially with the graceful sea oats of August, my camera could not fully capture what I saw -- the drama of the evening sun draping its way through the sea oats and beckoning up the stairs.  As an artist, the drama of the sunlight and the sense of welcome were what I sought to capture

 

 I began my painting by "sketching" the basic shapes of the scene with orange (since it complemented the blues) and then laid in thin paint as a road map for my darks and lights as well as my warm and cool colors.  This was a great way to work out how I wanted the viewer's eye to move through the painting.  I was careful to plan for more cools than warms and darks than lights because I wanted the warm sun-lit stairs to be the center of interest. 

At this stage of the painting process, an artist has to have great faith and not listen to passers-by who say, "Um.  Interesting."  :)

 As I laid paint on more thickly, keeping my darks largely "transparent" and my lights more opaque, I tried to stay faithful to my initial road map.  By reserving the purest colors, sharpest edges, and greatest contrast for the center of interest, I had fun making it, well, interesting!

  Sea Oats, not available

8x16 Oil

Sometimes one painting isn't enough when it's a scene I love.  Here's a slightly larger and different take on the same wonderful view.

Sea Oats of August, SOLD

12x24 Oil

Steps from Lassiter Mill Falls

On one of my "plein air" outings I went to a spot in Raleigh called Lassiter Mill Falls.  At first I was disappointed because the water level was so low that it was really more of a Lassiter Mill Trickle that day than a Falls.  

Searching for inspiration, my eye caught this fairly unkempt set of stairs leading up the bank.  Normally I might think, "Oh, that's a little bit junky", but all I could see was the way the light transformed it into a thing of beauty.  The sun bathed the path and the tree in a soft warm glow, peeked between the bushes, and dappled character up and down the weathered wood.

This is the picture I took:

But this is what I really saw.  I love seeing the world through the eyes of an artist :)

Steps from Lassiter Mill Falls, available
8x10 Oil on panel, framed