Shaw's Cove Shadows

By the time I had finished the first painting, there was not much time left to finish my second painting.  Usually I do the large painting first but I changed it up.  I had even less time to finish this one.

The intensity of the sun made the contrasts in this painting difficult to do.  It was one of those days charged with energy and calm, serene beauty.  As I painted, people would come and go but it seemed like there was never more than a dozen people at any one time.

The sandstone in the foreground was changing by the second as I finished up.  I started with the bluffs making sure to represent the contrast between the light on the water and the mass of the sandstone.  I then worked the values within the bluffs and added the details of the shapes associated with that mass.  I then worked the water, the rocks, the foreground with the sandstone in it and finally the sand with the waves washing up upon it.  This painting was more satisfying in its completion.  It felt like I got the feeling of the place better in this painting.