Abalone Skies - Daybreak at Shi Shi Beach, Oil on Canvas, 30x48

Olympic Coast Series, No. 20, Shi Shi Beach, Washington State Original Oil on Canvas, 30 x 48 x 1.5.

I am thrilled with this scene of a gorgeous August morning at Shi Shi Beach, I took great delight in the ebullient, Impressionist palette. A heavy fog was lifting from the ocean and sea stacks revealing the pastel colors of sunrise overhead, and reflecting in the wet, low tide beach giving a sense of weightlessness to the scene. This effect lasted only a few minutes as a heavy marine layer descended and the sky became solid grey. The painting started with a coral pink imprimatura, then an intense underpainting with blocks of color and finally the more misty colors applied on top with the high chroma Colors showing through.