I paint a lot of landscapes. So I go to a lot of spots and try to capture what I see in paint. Over the years I have seen many of the scenes that I've painted become something else entirely. Sometimes a developer will build over what was there; sometimes lightning, fire, a flood.
The scene above was much more sublty changed. You could see it from the beach, just as it is above; but after I painted, a hurricane blew through. These islands and beaches are tough, and everything you see above is still there. You just can't see it anymore from where I stood to paint. The wind and storm surge carried about ten verticle feet of sand up onto the beach, and so now there is a wall of sand that hides the scene. The sea took a beach from somewhere else and put it here, so this beach actually is in better shape after the storm.
I have been back to this spot a few times since making this painting. Had to climb up a big sand dune to see, but the whole scene survived. The big, ancient Live Oak in the background and the sea oats in the foreground. They're all still there, but this painting could not be made the same today because the place where you would have to stand to paint it is under ten feet of sand.
I have been back to this spot a few times since making this painting. Had to climb up a big sand dune to see, but the whole scene survived. The big, ancient Live Oak in the background and the sea oats in the foreground. They're all still there, but this painting could not be made the same today because the place where you would have to stand to paint it is under ten feet of sand.
