High Tide and Sinking Sun

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 I ended up getting a late start.  I got to the beach around 3 pm.  The temperature was unseasonably warm.  It was over 90 at the beach.  Because of the high surf over the last month, there was very little sand.

 I found the highest point I could on the beach.  I came when the tide was just starting to come in.  Because I had been painting here the week before, I was pretty sure I was safe from the incoming tide.

 This was my third time painting 36"X 36".  Budgeting my time was going to be more of an issue than usual.  

 Because I paint quickly and because I paint with pastels, I am able to wait a lot longer than oil painters when deciding on the final color choices.  I am able to chase the light.  When I want to paint the dusk's dramatic lighting, the key is a slow build up of the painting.

The key for me when I am waiting till the last minute to paint the highlights is to wait till the last minute to paint the highlights.

In order to paint those last minute highlights, I make sure the values are tight everywhere.  With pastel you really don't have to worry about the vibrancy of the highlights.  There is no wet into wet painting which diminishes the brightness of you highlights.  The last touch of pastel is the color you apply in dry applications.

 You can see in this photo that I have moved all my supplies out of the reach of the ocean.  As I was packing up the waves lapped the legs of my easel. 

I finished the painting with about 10 minutes of daylight left.  As I packed up and gathered my stuff,  I jumped into the crashing waves.  This is the latest in the year that I have been swimming in the last 25 years.  I believe the ocean was warmer than my pool.

This painting measures 36"X 36".  It was painted on a board that was primed with pumice gel and acrylic paint.  It was painted with soft pastels.