I love Florida’s accessibility to two bodies of water, and I used to spend 2-3 days a year on retreat at a friend’s beachfront condo.  Since she sold that property, I don’t get away to spend time at the beach very often.  When I do, it is always refreshing to my soul. Because of my love for the ocean, I made this series, Blue Upon Blue from memory and photo references at a time I was longing to be present and standing in front of the ocean.

 

Like Monet who painted more than 30 paintings of the Rouen Cathedral in 1892-93 showing different colors for different times of day, my series characterizes different aspects and colors of the ocean and helps me take in the freshness and spaciousness of God’s creation.  

 

This piece is abstracted to indicate the sparkling contrast of foaming whitecaps at shoreline to the vast blues of the water beyond.  I painted the bottom lines silver to add an element of shine and brightness to the work.

 

It has many layers of blue pigment to build up the depth of color and. I had to choose the blues I wanted to give the sense of depth. Because this was painted from memory and photos, the blues are not true to plein air painting, but I love it because to me it shouts OCEAN! And that’s what I wanted.

 

acrylic on canvas, 30” x 30”

Genesis 1:7-10