Shoreline Beach, Santa Barbara

"Shoreline Beach"
48 by 30 inches
oil on canvas
sold

This was a commissioned piece that I made for specific place in my clients house.  She didn't ask for any view in particular she just needed it to be this size. I like projects like that because it allows me to dream up something beautiful on my own. When I go to sleep at night I often try to visualize what I am going to paint. It fills me with excitement and joy to think about what I could make. In my mind I fly over Santa Barbara looking over the landscape with an open mind and no expectations in hope that something will just come to me. It usually does and then I fall asleep shortly after. I wake with a foggy vision of the painting I was dreaming about but with no specifics. For this project I contemplated what I was going to do for weeks and couldn't come up with a satisfying idea. I happened to go down to this spot with my two kids on an amazing morning with no wind and warm sunshine. I wasn't planning for a beach day but it was so nice I let the kids take their clothes off and play in the tide pools. They where having so much fun I was able to sit and enjoy this view for a full hour. I realized the composition would work perfectly and it would be a joy to be down here painting. And I am happy to say it was a wonderful experience all around.