Morning Gratitude

In Celebration of Easter:  Sun Rise

This is the view at sunrise from the house we rent in Nags Head NC each year.  Often, as I look out our bedroom door (with bleary eyes), I see my early-rising-mother already walking the beach for her quiet time of morning gratitude.  There's no better way to start the day.

Knowing that I wanted the sea oats to greet the sun with a rim of its radiance, I intentionally intensified the colors of the warm morning glow in my first layer of paint.

I then moved to the sun, sea, and sky and found myself almost having to squint at the sun's brilliance as it came to life.

In this final step, I worked on the cool sandy areas of the dune, providing an entrance for the viewer to step to the beach and quietly enjoy a moment of morning gratitude.
Morning Gratitude, 16x20 Oil, available 

(Here's the reference photo again for comparison)

Summer Shade

Although it may not be quite time to seek refuge in the shade from blazing summer heat, I was thinking of this scene recently because I just finished hanging the painting that it inspired at Glenaire Retirement Community in Cary, NC.  The cool refuge of shade was definitely necessary on the day I took this picture because it was 102 degrees in July and I was painting outdoors for the very first time.  Why did I choose a 102 degree day to experience the joys of plein air painting?  Good question!  I was taking a class and it is amazing what "non-refundable" can cause one to do :)   As I sweated, I mean glowed, I was lured by this scene because the shadows on the lush hillside looked so deceptively cool.

I'm not sure why I chose a large canvas for my first plein air painting, but it definitely caused me to paint quickly and with energy!  I laid in my darks and then enjoyed adding the sunlit areas that spilled down the hillside and sparkled on the flowers and grasses.  I can honestly say that "Summer Shade" was created by the sweat of my brow!

 

Summer Shade, available 

16x20 Oil

This painting was juried in to the Junior League of Raleigh's annual show at the Raleigh Convention Center ... pretty "cool", huh? :)

Click here to see where you can visit "Summer Shade" until June 2013.