Red Tide

The red tide that I have been seeing for the past couple of weeks out in the surf has exploded. When I went down to the beach to paint today the water looked putrid. Here is a picture:

Red tide on the Oregon coast

Here is another:

Red Tide

I didn't retouch anything in these pictures but I have to tell you, the real life view was even more dramatic. I haven't seen it this bad before. If you look carefully at my painting from yesterday, you can see a bit of the red tide in the middle swell and wave that I painted in.
Well, I did start to set my easel up but I just couldn't bring myself to paint the water. It just looked disgusting. On the other hand, I was there as the tide was coming in this morning and the cross waves were quite fantastic. I decided this would be a good time to get some of the wave structure down so I sat and stood as close to the water as I could without getting wet and sketched and drew diagrams for a couple of hours.
I did some technical sketching so it isn't much to look at and wouldn't make much sense to many people. I learned a few things. I learned enough to send me back to my computer to try and find wave models. I just wanted to verify something my eyes were seeing. I understand the way light and color changes as the planes change but water is so fluid and can be quite complex.

I must admit, I find all of this stuff incredibly fascinating. I spent the day indulging the science nerd in me. I also got some things done in the studio that I needed to do.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day out here on the Northern Oregon Coast unlike the East Coast. I will be out painting, red tide or no.
To my East Coast friends, please stay safe and warm. Hope you are stocked up and ready to just snuggle in. I will be watching for news.