The Wave Watchers

One of my favorite things to do growing up on coastal Massachusetts was to go to the beach during intense storms and watch the waves. After moving to Maine this past time became even more enjoyable and dramatic. Instead of watching the waves roll up on sandy beaches I get to watch them crash against rocky cliffs. Where I grew up on Massachusetts Bay, the waves were tempered by Cape Cod. On the shores of Cape Elizabeth, just south of Portland where this painting takes place, the wind and wave is unfettered across the Atlantic, slowing down only when careening into the marine slate of Maine’s rugged shoreline.

On one of my first trips to Cape Elizabeth to watch the waves created by a powerful offshore storm, I was happy to see I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed it. A group of teenagers were sitting calmly in a row atop the cliff, bundled up against the rain. I don’t think they knew I was there taking photos of them, but they didn’t move, seemingly transfixed by the roiling ocean in front of them.

“The Wave Watchers” Original Painting

The original painting is 9×12 inches on panel and painted with heat-set oil paints. Heat-set oil paints were actually closer to screen printing ink. It had the advantage of not drying until you applied a heat gun to it. I loved working with these paints as it gave me tremendous flexibility. Unfortunately the company who made them went out of business and other versions of them are prohibitively expensive.