"Wet Traces of High Tide"

Oil on linen on panel, 6 x 8 inches, $150

I just returned from a short visit to Ocean Isle Beach. This time of year the water is too cold to go swimming in, for my taste, so I completed a painting "en plein air" instead. I painted from the far east end of Ocean Isle Beach and that strip of green in the distance is Holden Beach.

In the photo of my setup, below, you can tell better that the two beaches are actually divided by a sound. I almost changed my vantage point to paint that sound, but the wet sand which remained from high tide was so interesting - and also served as a good "lead in" to the scene. What you can't tell from the photo is what a windy day it was. Several times I had to stop my easel from blowing over and even a few paint brushes took off flying!