Sitting By The Ocean ..
Originally I posted about this piece on March 12, 2018. At the time I was first starting out on Steemit and learning what it was to blog. Wow! I have to say that I have come a long way since then and have landed in a much better place here on Hive. I don't think the first post was well thought through. It was as basic as you can get really. Roughly 50 words and then a bunch of photos with no explanation. I'll try to give you a little more than that today.
How Did I Arrive At This Name?
Well, my wife wanted a beach scene painting and she likes to sit by the ocean during the summer, so I think the name is perfect. We don't live all that far from the beach (Atlantic Ocean) so my wife will often take the short trip there to spend the day basking in the sun and listening to the ocean waves. It was an excellent choice for her to want to keep the painting to display in our home, because we both like the way we feel when visually soaking it in. We had the painting framed and then hung it on a wall of our master bathroom. It really goes nicely with everything in that room and adds the beachy feel we were looking for.
About The Painting ..
The painting measures 18 inches tall by 24 inches wide. I chose a surface made of 1/4 inch hardboard. I put a total of about 60 hours into this one. The funny thing is that I am sitting here typing out "60 hours" and it seems like a lot. Really it's not a lot of hours in the grand scheme of things. The hours go by fast when your into your work. Most of that time was spent on painting the details of the waves, and that area encompasses maybe 1/4th or 1/5th of the entire painting. My favorite part of the painting would have to be the foreground, where the water meets the sand. The picture does not do it justice. My least favorite part is how the clouds came out. I think they are a bit too wispy. They look like a bunch of birds or angels taking flight through the afternoon sky. White doves maybe! haha.
In The Beginning ..
Before I started to paint, I primed the entire surface of the hardboard with a rough gesso material. Typically the hardboard has a very rough side and a very smooth side. The smooth side is just way too smooth and if I were to paint with out priming it (which I have) the oil in the paint is absorbed out of the paint rather quickly. The paint becomes pasty and thick and hard to work with. The gesso is a bit harsh on the brushes, but I like the way it grabs a hold of the paint. It is also a chore to blend the paint, because of it's sandy like surface, but again, the results are worth it for me. I struck a horizon line about 1/3rd of the way up from the bottom and quickly began to apply some paint. I started out with the sky, because that is what I am familiar with and comfortable with. I should have left it a simple one like you see here, but foolish me was not happy with a simple sky.
Flash forward about an hour or so, and the sky is about finished. I apologize for the sloppy and blurry picture, but I can not go back and do a re-shoot at this point. hehe. Also, you may notice that I began to drop in some dark blues just under the clouds. This is the start to what will soon be the ocean. The water that sits far off in the horizon, always seems to be darkest to me. I will lighten it up as I move forward toward the beach.
As I occupy about half of that bottom 1/3rd of space, I make sure to leave room for what will soon be the beach. I gather up some white paint and lightly blend in some thick smooth strokes. I want to give only a hint of where the large waves will be. At this point I was trying to gain a little perspective and determine the right size wave for the space that I left for them.
Again, I am going to flash forward a bit, which lands us near the completion of my first wave. I also utilized a palette knife and layered in the sand. Looks like I started to blend some of the flesh toned color into the blue of the ocean, to give the appearance of water over sand. As far as the wave goes, I made sure that I kept the colors light, as if sunlight was shining through it. I randomly picked a spot for the wave to begin breaking. I remember feeling that the depth was a bit off, but decided that I could correct that by adding multiple waves or at least the idea of more waves. I think I did a fairly decent job at working my way through it. This was also the first time I painted waves, so I gave myself some slack!
The blending of the sand into the ocean was finished, and the addition of some smaller broken up wave patterns had begun. I had considered leaving the painting like this with some final touches, but in the end ultimately knew that It needed more detail.
I proceeded to clean up the lines in the foreground. I didn't care for the fact that the smaller broken up waves were a little too choppy.They seemed A little too busy for my taste. I began to blend the rough parts out and straighten the lines. Waves don't break perfectly all of the time, and most certainly don't roller over the sand evenly. I kept reminding myself to keep it a bit loose. I added a little green between the waves in order to give a little visual interest to the foreground and to try my best to add a reflective look. Did I achieve that? hmmm.. maybe.
All that was left was to spend a little of those 60 hours on final details. Highlights and shading. Shading was needed under some of the smaller waves and highlights on top of them. I added a few directional lines to give the affect of water falling at the break points. I lightened up the line of what is supposed to be another approaching wave in the far off distance. That helped to break up that very dark area between the horizon and the largest wave. What's left?? A signature I think!
I added the signature and let her dry for about a month. After that, and on a rather nice day, I took the painting outdoors and sealed it with a protective coating. The sealant will help protect the colors from fading when exposed to the bright UV rays that shine into our bathroom. We want to make sure we enjoy it for as long as we can. When we had it framed, we also chose museum glass that is UV resistant.
That's All I Have For Now ..
I am feeling so much better that I was able to give the painting a little more than a 30 second read. I was such an amateur blogger.. haha.. such a novice! Wait, has anything really changed?? hehehehe.. I hope so. I had a blast painting this piece and learned a lot about painting waves. I was hoping to paint something similar, and in fact started to, but it's still sitting on my painting table. This is as far as I was able to get with it. I didn't want to start messing with it without having a bunch of free time on my hands. I know once I get involved, that I won't want to stop until I am close to finished. Someone give me a kick in the butt! Get me motivated to get working on it again. You can see the resemblance to the above painting, yet quite different. I am LOVING the clouds on this one. Lets hope I don't fail on the foreground.
Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!
All words, pictures and art pieces are the sole property of B D Miller Gallery, unless otherwise noted and credited, and are not to be reproduced or copied without the prior written consent of B D Miller Gallery.
About Me ~ The Artist
My art work incorporates a wide variety of subject matter, including landscape, seascape, cityscape, and still life images. My works are the product of a continuing process of exploration through which I seek to portray personal and visionary interpretations of my surroundings. My paintings are impressions of places and events from everyday life, an interpretation of my imagination, and personal responses to what I see and feel on a daily basis. More recently I have invested generous amounts of time into my landscape painting. I am surrounded by natural and man made beauty, which inherently presents itself in the tri-state area, and almost demands that I paint it.
Not everything is art. Art is not everything, but it comes close. Art is everywhere and all the time. Art makes you experience the beauty of the world, the people in it, and the places we call home. Art itself is so influential that it can tell stories, show feelings, and express passion or fury. Art exists in addition to language; expression of sensations and thoughts, revealing a way of thinking too subtle and delicate for words.
For me art requires love, honesty and perseverance. In return, it reveals some personal, non-analyzable, and creative untamed passion. For the public, art with its magnificent beauty, improves mood and health and builds better human beings and communities. It engages the intellect, softens the heart, strengthens the soul and frees the spirit.
If Your Interested In Purchasing Any Of My Work:
They can be found for sale on
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If you don't see the piece in either shop, It may still be drying. Let me know and I can upload it as soon as possible to be available. Or you can always make me an offer (in HBD, Hive or any other crypto) in the comments section of this post. If we agree on a price, I will then ship the painting to you. (shipping costs will be determined by your location).
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“My heart can feel the softness of a star
Only when the moon stays afar
I lay my mind on the pillow of sky
Where sleep dares not ever to pry”
― Munia Khan