#13: Heading to the Beach

Painting #13 Heading to the Beach

Inspiration:
A friend of mine posted a picture of the beach on Hilton Head Island, SC. I loved the way the picture drew me inside, so I decided to try to paint it. 

Original Photo

M Wright

What I like about the painting:

• I was pleased with the way the ocean looked, with small waves showing on it. 
• I liked my sky, except I was not especially pleased with the mist on the horizon. 
• I struggled with the clouds but was not totally displeased with them in the end. 
• The path to the beach almost looks like it is sunken a bit, which is the effect I was trying for.

What I would do differently:

• I think I’d move the ocean down to the bottom third line of the painting and have more sky showing than beach and dune. 
• I was not happy with my sea oats. They are too thick and need to be darker. 
• I think I needed to have more contrast in the grass to show the bright highlights where the sun is hitting it on parts of the the dune. 
• The dune looks flat. 

What I learned:
I tried to be more aware of negative space with the sea oats, trying to tie them together with stalks or blades of grass that cross each other.