"Morning at Hendry's Beach"

This is one of my favorite beaches in Santa Barbara.  It is never too crowded, dog friendly, and there is a great restaurant in the parking lot.  Located on the edge of Hope Ranch, an area rich in history, you can take a long walk and be completely alone in no time at all.  This painting was made in the early morning.  The light is blinding as it is refracted off the particles of mist, but as the mist begins to lift, the cliff, which is teeming with wildlife will take your breath away.

In order to execute this painting I had to place myself on the sand and the sea was rather choppy that morning. When the sea is choppy there will always be a steady wind and more often than not your painting will end up face down in the sand or at least will pick up a few particles. All of this, of course, is an occupational hazzard for the pleine air artist.

In order to achieve the effect of distance and atmosphere change, I used a white turpentine wash on the most distant part of the cliff.  For the sky I began by using Ultramarine blue at the top, working with a hatch work stroke into a cobalt blue and then into cerulean and violet for the horizon.


"Morning at Hendry's Beach"     (20" X 24")      Oil in Canvas                  $1,900.00