Sand Dunes & Shore Pines

C1552

“Sand Dunes & Shore Pines”

(Lost Lake ACEC, Oregon Coast)

Oil Sketch on Centurion Oil Primed Linen Panel

with an additional Priming Coat of Rublev Lead White in Oil

5” x 7”

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After spending two afternoons on the previous painting, “Evening Light on Lost Lake,” I went back to the Lost Lake ACEC, and went on past the lake and came out onto the sand dunes and found myself still out of sight of the sea.  I was taken by this vista and found a vantage point tucked in under the edge of a wood of Shore Pines, out of the main force of the wind, but not as sheltered as at Lost Lake itself; I ended the day of painting a bit shivery with the chill north wind.  Shore Pines are, evidently, a type of Lodgepole Pine, found throughout the West; the latter being used for tepees of course. 

Again I used the bristle brush, and you can see the character of its use by studying the brushwork in the sky; more evident than in the previous two paintings.  Here you can really see the affect of the Venetian Red imprimatura on the blue sky towards the horizon, how it warms that part.  If you look close you can see the texture of the strokes, and gives an excitement to the sky other than would be achieved by a smooth gradation; at a sufficient viewing distance, the eye will blend these strokes and smooth out this texture … this is called optical blending.  But that is not really the point, since as a small work you will be looking at it more closely, and the stokes and texture will be more interesting than that if you back away at some point it will be a smoother gradation.  I used the same bristle brush again throughout … I had thought to use a smaller brush later, but it was not necessary. 

Pigments used Cerulean, Cobalt Blues, Yellow Ochre, Venetian Red, and Cremnitz White.