I waited a year and a day to paint this. These stairs lead over the dune from a beach house to the shore. The dune is so tall here that the house itself hides behind it, giving me this wonderfully inviting view of stairs leading up into a leafy natural area.
These stairs first caught my eye when we walked along a Florida beach in March of 2022. I loved the sense of flickering light on the railings and stairs themselves. The wood is old and a weathered silver that reflects both the warm light bouncing from the sand and the cool light coming from the sky. I really wanted to paint them right then and there but we were on the way to an engagement I did not want to be late for. So I filed the spot in my memory in the “paint this when I can get back here” department, hoping I would get there later in the week. That never happened. When I headed back to Florida for this year’s event (the 2023 Forgotten Coast en Plein Air) I discovered I was staying less than 2 miles from those stairs. That gave me my chance to go paint then and so I made it a priority to go there as soon as I could after arrival.
I started with a black and white sketch, as I usually do for a scene that has this much complexity. There was a lot of drawing in getting the scale and angles right. By the time I had finished my sketch, the sun had moved enough that it was too late to start the colour version of the painting. The shadows had moved to the other side of the stairs and it was not the same view, so I quit for the day. I went back the next day, slightly earlier in the morning and was able to carefully observe and paint the colours and shadows of this inviting scene.
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This painting is a watercolour on panel. It has been varnished and can be framed without glass. It is available directly from the artist, unframed. Shipping is free within Canada and the US. See How to buy a painting for more info.
I waited a year and a day to paint this. These stairs lead over the dune from a beach house to the shore. The dune is so tall here that the house itself hides behind it, giving me this wonderfully inviting view of stairs leading up into a leafy natural area.
These stairs first caught my eye when we walked along a Florida beach in March of 2022. I loved the sense of flickering light on the railings and stairs themselves. The wood is old and a weathered silver that reflects both the warm light bouncing from the sand and the cool light coming from the sky. I really wanted to paint them right then and there but we were on the way to an engagement I did not want to be late for. So I filed the spot in my memory in the “paint this when I can get back here” department, hoping I would get there later in the week. That never happened. When I headed back to Florida for this year’s event (the 2023 Forgotten Coast en Plein Air) I discovered I was staying less than 2 miles from those stairs. That gave me my chance to go paint then and so I made it a priority to go there as soon as I could after arrival.
I started with a black and white sketch, as I usually do for a scene that has this much complexity. There was a lot of drawing in getting the scale and angles right. By the time I had finished my sketch, the sun had moved enough that it was too late to start the colour version of the painting. The shadows had moved to the other side of the stairs and it was not the same view, so I quit for the day. I went back the next day, slightly earlier in the morning and was able to carefully observe and paint the colours and shadows of this inviting scene.
—-
This painting is a watercolour on panel. It has been varnished and can be framed without glass. It is available directly from the artist, unframed. Shipping is free within Canada and the US. See How to buy a painting for more info.