Brant Rock Oceanfront

Brant Rock Oceanfront

Low tide enabled me to get down amid the largest boulders along Ocean Street in the Brant Rock section of Marshfield, MA.   I've painted this scene before so the lines, angles and landmarks were very familiar.   It was a picture perfect day, warm, dry and breezy, certainly conducive for a good creative flow!

The 12x16" canvas had been toned in a middle value blue, a good complement for the warm, orangy light of the day.   The two foot waves rolled onto a stretch of beach in front of me in a four second rhythm, a most relaxing white noise.   Many people walked along the sidewalk above, but very few ventured down to where I was.

As for the painting, the darkest darks were first, then the lightest lights.   Next was the greenish blue water, followed by thick white waves, mostly painted with my palette knife.    Where the water met the sand, I interwove the two color masses creating the shoreline.   At the conclusion of the paint out, I hadn't even touched the blue areas.  Since the blue was a middle value, it served as the half tone without having to paint over it.   It amounted to a painting done with three basic colors, the simplicity of which I really liked.