Under the Watery Sky

SOLD

11” x 14”

Sumi inks, gouache, oil pastel, and acrylic on panel.

I was thinking back to many evenings spent camping on the coastal bluffs of California’s central coast in my twenties while I painted this. I always appreciated the contrast of scrubby, angular seaside brush against the soft glow of the ephemeral night sky during these nights. I painted the backdrop of the piece first, fully saturating the panel to enable pigments to flow across its surface naturally, then flicking darker pigments on the surface and creating a sense of movement by pulling a large brush lightly in a spiral around the center while the droplets were drying. I wanted the foreground to feel like it was standing still while the sky moved around it, much as an observer experiences the wonder of a fluid sky washing across their stationary line of sight if they have the patience to hold still for long enough.