Emotions of the Ocean, Monday, Avon OBX

Yikes!  I can't believe it's been so long since my last blog post.  I have a lot to catch up on.  Before catching up, though, I'm going to get current.  Last week Chris and I went to the Outer Banks of North Carolina on vacation.  It's where we go to fill our souls and release our anxiety and tension.  We were very blessed this last time to find a cottage, Canary Sings, which was discounted substantially so we were able to stay on the ocean affordably.  The cottage is actually much more beautiful than the pictures indicate.  It is behind a good-sized dune, but from the upstairs window, we could see the ocean very clearly.  Here's a picture taken from inside the living room.

Though I hadn't intended to paint or draw while I was at the beach (I was on vacation, after all, and art is now my full time job!), I felt so inspired by the view that I could not WAIT to set up my easel and draw the scene moment by moment!  I prepared my sanded paper, tearing or cutting it into 9"x6" pieces, put up my new easels, and set to work.

The first day I did 6 paintings.  Every time I looked out the window, the view was different, and I got so excited I had to get up from whatever I was doing and draw it!  It was really fun drawing it because that way I could compare the colors and sky and sea concretely.  I was amazed at how much it changed in a short time.  Chris suggested a great way to think about it - he said it's like emotions - they come and go, passing quickly from one to the other, as silly to take personally as the changing weather, and similarly harmless (sometimes they're not so harmless, as when someone takes their anger out on you - likewise the ocean as when there's a hurricane).

 Here's the first day's worth of images (Monday, March 5)

The sky was very misty.  It was difficult to see the horizon or any details in the sea.

This one is fairly similar to the photograph I attached at the start of the blog post: cloudy, a bit stormy, grey and green.

Later the weather cleared up.  It was still cloudy, but the sky was showing patches of blue, and I could see the waves much more clearly.  Obviously, this picture is more close up than the others!

Just a little while later, everything was different.  There were clouds, yes, but the water was much darker, the clouds much thinner, and the sky was now that gorgeous cerulean blue.  What a contrast to the early morning fog!

So many colors in the waves!

Can you believe this was the same day as the first picture??  Clear blue sky with just a couple of grey-ish clouds, blue water, calm and relative stillness.  Amazing!

The next few days' of posts will be the pictures I did at the OBX each day so you, like I, can experience the changing emotions of the ocean.

(If you're interested in purchasing any of these, please contact me.  Unframed, they will sell for $165.  Framed (acid-free materials, beautiful hand-made frame (framed by Chris and me)) they will sell for $275.  I will also be making prints which will be $35.)