Evening Breaker #2

I've always loved the ocean.  The salt air, the sound of waves crashing on the rocks, the waves retreating back into the ocean rolling the rocks and sand.  A steady rythm, power,  and a vastness that seem to make everything else feel insignificant.

There are so many colors, both pure and reflected, and design elements that one could paint the same area of the coast day after day and never paint the same picture twice.  I particularly enjoy the coast during storms and other "off times."  

Though it has been many years, I still remember the power of the ocean when body surfing.  Literally being carried along, surprisingly fast by waves.  Learning to be patient and not to panic when held underwater by the power of the breaking waves.  The sting of salt water in my eyes and nose and the loud roar of the water of the breaker and the hiss of the wave stopping on the beach and retreating into the coming waves.

Below is a plein air seascape that I completed in Cape Elizabeth this past summer.

And a quick watercolor study from a sketch completed on location on Long Island, Maine.