Copper Painting and More Epic Clouds

©2013 R.L. Delight,"Solstice Turbulence", 6"x6" oil on copper.

Today I broke away from the wave studies and brought a copper canvas to paint on. The clouds continue to be stunning and the weather unusual. In fact, the National Weather Service issued warnings of possible "cold core funnel clouds"! That boils down to epic clouds that tower over our tall mountains and unusual lighting conditions. The weather on the beach is perfect for painting, not too windy, and warm! I haven't been rained on either.
I am pushing myself a bit and am using some different approaches to painting than I have in the past. Whenever I try a new-to-me painting technique or approach, I hate it. Knowing that, I make myself try it several times before deciding if it is something I want to add to my tool box. So here, I am trying to use more paint and I am trying to think about my brush strokes. I actually am enjoying myself as it feels more like playing.
 One of the nice things about not having to worry about producing for a gallery is that I can take as much time as I want to experiment without the pressure of needing to have finished work for sale. The downside is, I don't have finished work for sale (or not very much)! I do need to start thinking about that so this piece will be going up for sale soon. I do want to let it sit for a couple of days to study it. I don't want to tweak the painting too much and lose the energy of the work.
If the clouds continue to be so stunning, I will go out again to paint, maybe even another copper.
I am off to walk my Twill dog and wrap up the day. I will leave you all with a picture from my "office" this morning.

A view of my office on the Northern Oregon Coast.

Wave Study #57: Epic Clouds

We are having rather stunning weather on the Oregon Coast today and over the past few days. The temperature is a pleasant warmth and the skies are stormy with plenty of sunshine in between. Here is a picture I took this morning while walking Twill:

Neahkahnie Thunderheads.

Of course, the picture doesn't do it justice! The clouds are huge and dwarf Neahkahnie Mountain. There were shards of rainbows tucked into the clouds this morning as well. The beauty is breathtaking.
I have three days off from my new part-time job and I am planning to paint and study as much as I can. I went out right before the high tide this morning. I set up to paint so that I was slightly at an angle looking out over the waves, a slight deviation from my usual head-on take. I will be doing more of that but I still really like painting the waves looking head on.
Here is Wave Study #57:

©2013 R.L. Delight: Wave Study #52, Epic Clouds, 6"x8", oil on canvas panel.

I really could have spent the entire time just painting the clouds!

I have a lot to squeeze into little time so this will be all to the post for now. I am determined to paint on copper over the next two days. The studio painting continues to evolve as well.
Onward!

Wave Study #56

©2013 R.L. Delight, Wave Study #56, 6"x8" oil on canvas

Just when I get a new schedule figured out fate shuffles the deck again! Events have been happening so fast that I haven't posted in a while. I have been steadily working in the studio and also studying a bit as the conditions for painting on the beach haven't been the greatest.
I also started a part time job which basically forced me to toss the previous schedule out the window! I have been busy reorganizing and re-arranging to  make things go as smooth as possible. The good news is I figured out how to get exercise and meditation in. The bad news is I have to get up at 5 am and therefore to bed early. The bonus of doing that is that I can get an hour of painting in before I head to work! I am too tired after work to paint anything effective.
There are still a few things to get into place but so far so good. On my days off I do my best to get to the beach to paint if the conditions allow. We have had a run of beautiful sunny and warm days but they have been too windy by the time the tide rises. The waves are pretty puny too.
That said, today is a day off and the day is overcast with a lovely diffused light hanging over all. It was warm and calm on the beach. The waves were still pretty small but I looked on that as a challenge.
Here is Wave Study #56, painted as the tide came in. I worked on trying out some new to me brush work as well as keeping a mind on the values and edges in the wave foam. It was challenging to decide what to paint as the light and colors literally changed by the minute. I stuck to my plan and am glad I did.
I am going to overlap two of my blogs slightly. My sewing had also come to a halt in all of the chaos of events but the new job has put an even greater urgency on the necessity to create some clothing. I will be updating that blog soon.
I am off and running again. Feels great to get out to the beach once more and am looking forward to settling into a rhythm.