White Sea - Oil on Canvas, 20 x 28 Inches

The idea for this painting came from my preliminary forays into plein air work. I was becoming dissatisfied with painting from reference photos due to their inability to truly capture what is seen with the eye. I set off on a windy evening with my lightweight easel and some charcoal drawing materials to visit a favorite spot on the south end of Lopez Island.

As I was looking for a place to set up the easel I turn toward the water and was struck by an effect of light on the water I had never seen before. The wind whipping up the sea made for conditions which brilliantly reflected the sunlight in contrast to the dark clouds close to the horizon.

I made a very quick sketch in charcoal to capture the scene, followed by another about three minutes later in which the cloud shapes had completely changed. This painting was done in my studio but I repeatedly returned to the site to draw details I needed as I progressed in the work. I never took a photo and worked entirely from my own drawings.

The palette I worked with was strongly influenced by two paintings by Gustav Klimt I had recently found in a book.