beach, beachart, dusk, Dusk at Saint SImons Island, Golden Isles, Golden Isles painting, landscape, oil, oil painting, Saint Simons Island, Saint Simons Island Painting, sunset - August 14, 2018

Dusk at the Island

My heart often wanders to the beach, even when I cannot travel. It remembers the briny scent of the breeze and the rhythmic fall of the waves. Just the thought of the coast soothes my spirit and centers me. When I can make the trip, my favorite destination is the Golden Isles, specifically Jekyll and Saint Simons Island. Feeling the soft crunch of sand beneath my feet and the warmth of the sun on my face does more for my body and mind than therapy ever could.

I found myself longing for the beach recently and because I could not go there, I needed to paint it. And because I have thousands—yes thousands— of beach photos collected from years past, I searched for just the right one. It was from a wedding vacation a few years back, when my niece was married on SSI and our family gathered there for the whole week. It was a rare and happy time for me, and it felt good to reminisce and plan my newest painting.

First, I brushed in a wash of umbre and ochre, to tone the canvas since it was set at just before dusk. I painted the beginnings of a cerulean sky that faded into a warm, buttery hue. Slowly, I layered thin glazes of muddy-violets and greys. My mind went into “artist autopilot” and my strokes became as effortless as the ebb and flow of those waves, falling softly into one another.

When i was satisfied with the water and clouds, I moved on to sea grasses, burned rust in the evening and silhouettes of tiny figures and beach fence posts. Then there were dunes to push into the paint and light to dapple on the tide pools. At the end, when the sun was hanging low in my own studio, I felt as moved by the work as a conductor who had reached the end of the opus—exhausted, but content.

Contentment is fleeting for the artist. We pour our souls into the art and usually feel unworthy and restless. But that night, I felt peace. And the beach and the paint took me there.

-JBM

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