Hail and Fury: Wave Study #37

Hail on the beach

I couldn't resist heading out this morning to paint at high tide. There were some pretty serious warnings out. To quote:
A paraphrase from the National Weather Service,
"Chaotic high surf will pose a threat to beachgoers tonight and Saturday before dissipating later on Saturday.
Expect powerful west to northwest swells of 20 to 25 feet, with a period of 15 to 16 seconds."
“Anyone near the surf zone will be prone to being swept away by erratic and unpredictable sneaker waves that can be much larger than the general seas,”
I was careful. I stayed sneaker wave distance away from the surf zone. 
Of course, it was still stormy. I got the sky laid in on the painting and then was hit by a hail squall. As you can see from the picture above, I folded my box a bit to protect my painting and palette and waited it out. All the white stuff, which looks shiny, on the sand is hail. I also had a hard time keeping it off my camera lens which is why there is a few blurry spots. I will have to remember to pack some goggles. The hail was stinging my face and eyes in spite of my hood pulled forward.
After the squall passed I continued painting but I had trouble with water getting on my palette and into the paint. That makes it not want to stick. So I got what information I could and brought it home to finish. I worked a bit more on it before having to break off to do a few things. I will do my best to get it done tomorrow while it is still somewhat fresh in my head.
The waves were stupendous.
Here is the wave study in progress:

©2013 R.L. Delight, Wave Study #37-Hail and Fury, 6"x8" oil on canvas. In progress.

Pretty dramatic sky and the crosswaves were pretty spectacular too. The lighting was almost eerie in its intenseness. This has a little bit to go still. I wanted to just get the basic elements and the value and color relationships in before having to break off. I barely got it in at that. 
There was a lot more action than I could or even would want to portray. 
And the sneaker waves? They were fast and frightening. I set myself up pretty far back and they never got less than 15 feet away from me but they would come roaring up the beach and I would hold my breath to see if they were going to jump the rocks and keep coming. 
Even though I was painting at high tide, I still had to be fairly far away from the surf zone. 
Well, it has been a long day so I am off to bed. Life drawing in the morning.