A few years back, when I had more time with my first granddaughter, we liked to visit the beach on an off day. I think she was in nursery school or maybe pre-K. I would retrieve her from school and off we’d go.
We would explore the empty seashore, make tracks in the sand, examine the seaweed, shells, and spent carcasses of old horseshoe crabs. It was always such a great feeling of freedom on these little breaks. Seeing the world through each other’s eyes gave us a great bond. Laughter, smiles, chasing the tide line, watching our footprints dissolve into the ocean and tracking our day in photos.
Flipping through some of these photos to give myself a bit of motivation to paint, I settled on this view. Easy enough to pull out the watercolor paints and a small Arches paper block to work. A little drama in the sky, the dark of the sand, and the small, but significant figure to ground it all felt right.
Two days work and this autumn beach scene was done. Is it perfect? No. Did it have the motivational effect I needed? Maybe. Right now there’s too much going on and Mr. Resistance is pulling me in other directions.
That guy is miserable.