Rocks Along Ocean St

Rocks Along Ocean St - Phase One

The day after a storm moves away is typically a great day to paint at the ocean.   On this painting day, the wave action was impressive, yet the winds had died down and the morning sun was sparkling from the horizon line to the shore.   Along Ocean Street in Brant Rock, Massachusetts I discovered a nice low concrete platform to work from.   The air was charged with moist energy from the pounding of the surf.   As if plein air painting on a beautiful day was not relaxing enough, the waves had settled into a loud eight second rhythm that was downright therapeutic.


Rocks Along Ocean St - Phase Two

Although the rocks look complex, they were painted loosely, probably not very accurate, except that the further rock were small and the closer rocks were larger and redder.

Two important tips in painting rocks like these:   Restate the cracks after completing the painting first pass.   These darks go a long way in setting off the earthy tones and the shaded foam of the sea water.   Make the foam dark enough, deep blue even.   Although wave spray can be quite light and bright, the floating ocean foam is never white.