"Mystic Pacific", 16x12, oil on canvas panelHaving just returned home from the west coast, I had the opportunity to take out a painting of the Pacific Ocean that I'd done recently and critique it. I realized that I needed to soften everything to make the painting more believable. The Pacific Ocean is a cold body of water. Even though it was August, I felt like I was dipping my foot in an ice bucket when I went into the ocean last week. Then again, the Gulf is almost too warm for most people, and that is what I am used to. Anyhow, the surfers all wear wet suits, even as far south as San Diego, so that tells you that I am not really exaggerating how cold the water is. Because the water is so cold, the mornings on the west coast tend to be very misty, with the air off the ocean hovering in the valleys between the mountains. By the afternoon, however, the sky is usually blue and dramatically beautiful, just as Florida mornings tend to be. I took a ride out to the light house at Point Loma last week and the scene at the top was breathtaking. I was fascinated by the way in which the horizon and sky just melted seemlessly together, with little or no clear definition that sky and water were seperate entities. So in this painting, I attempted to create that feeling of mistiness that hovers over the Pacific Ocean at times, giving it an aura of otherworldliness (is that a word?) that is breathtaking and almost overwhelming in its dramatic beauty.
I always marvel at how close I feel to God when I am in the presence of nature. I feel very thankful to have had so many opportunities to view God's magnificent landscapes and seascapes in my lifetime!
My paintings can certainly never do them justice, but it's a challenge that is rewarding in the effort , nonetheless.
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