Ocean and Marsh

Ocean and Marsh

One day this past March the Atlantic Ocean at Juno Beach glowed like the Caribbean Sea, electric blues seemingly lit from within. There was no wind, and the ocean was crystal clear with gentle rollers, The water was extremely warm for that time of year, upper seventies. I walked and waded through the gentle surf for miles out past the exposed ancient reef and past some of the mansions on the stretch of beach that ultimately becomes Singer Island. I felt transported by the weather and magnificent colors, totally at peace with myself, the world and the universe/God. That just doesn’t happen to me. I’m not one of those who gets to speak with God when he prays, as President Bush claims he does in his own religious practice. So that day was extremely important in my spiritual life, and I’ve tried to invest my feelings about the day in this drawing titled “The perfect Day.”

The second drawing is one of the series of small drawings I’m making of the saltwater marshes here in Delaware. I’m working small, and fast, with broader strokes of the pastels in order to complete the drawing during one session. I am still not allowing myself the luxury of rubbing and blending the colors together except as the colors smear together when I stroke a pastel back and forth. I’m pleased with the intensity of the color in this drawing, and I look forward to tracking the changes in the flora of the marshes as the season advances.

Broadkill River Pastels - June, 2008

Notice that the small drawing, “Broadkill River #3” is labeled “pastel sketch.” I’m making that distinction based on size and method / technique. My pastel drawings are based on color mixing that is caused by the individual strokes of the pastel rather than rubbing and blending, the method almost all pastel artists use. However, in the sketches I am much more apt to use the side of the pastel as opposed to a sharpened edge at the end of the pastel as I do in the drawings. That means that the strokes in the sketches are larger, much larger in some areas, and I work faster. I also work on a smaller scale in the sketches so as to produce more of them more rapidly.

Blowing Rocks

Dr. John Bittinger Klomp

Mist and Fog Continued