Thursday, January 29, 2015

Sunshine, Whales, and Bald Eagles!

Not a bad day at the office! I have decided to add one day-long (8 hours or more) plein air painting day a week, weather permitting. Today was a beautiful sunny day on the northern Oregon coast, so I decided that today was the day for this week. Sunny days used to be rare but this winter we have seen quite a few. I talked my mate into spending the day with me as well. I didn't have to twist his arm on a day like today!

We drove a little further up the coast to Cannon Beach to paint at Ecola State Park. This is Indian Beach. It is rather stunning and there is another life time of painting to be had. Here are a few quick pictures of the area:



Of course, my cell phone doesn't exactly do it justice!

I painted a painting in the morning, ate a quick picnic lunch, and then painted another in the afternoon. While I was eating lunch there was a pod of whales passing through and we enjoyed watching them spout and breach.  I was planning on moving to a new spot to paint but liked how different the rocks I was painting looked in the afternoon sun, so I decided to paint the same spot. Here is the morning painting and the afternoon painting.
© 2015 R.L. Delight, Ecola in January study, 10"x8", oil on canvas

© 2015 R.L. Delight, Low Afternoon Tide Study, 8"x10", oil on canvas

We arrived at Indian Beach just after the high tide had turned. Low tide happened just as I was finishing up the second painting. The change in shadows and the change in tide made quite a difference in the scene. There were a lot more rocks exposed by the retreating tide for one. There was a bit of the lingering marine layer in the morning which made for a softer horizon in the distance.
We were visited by a pair of Bald Eagles as I was finishing up. Can you blame me for wanting to be outside painting?

What a lovely day! The light on the return drive home was incredibly beautiful. We had dinner and a quick evening walk to the library and post office while discussing art and music. Tonight we will both be practicing music and tomorrow I will head out again in the afternoon.

Life is good!
-Renee

1 comment:

Theresa said...

Wow, what a difference between the two paintings! And what a lovely day all around.
I see eagles and other raptors quite often up here, but as far as I known whale pods....Lucky you!

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