Tidal Encounter represents my memory of a fleeting moment on the California coastline.

A group gathers on the beach just before sunset, taken with the experience of seeing the ocean, maybe for the first time. Children wade in, and photos are snapped. Long blue shadows streak across the sand. The mood is calm, yet each person is engaged in the action in some way. The figures are seen from above on the pier.
I was up on the Huntington Beach Pier, enjoying the happy crowd in the long rays of the sunset, when I glanced back at the beach. The combination of lighting, subject, and vantage point was magical, and I knew I had found the inspiration for a painting.
I started the painting using a wet-into-wet limited color palette to create the background of water and wet sand. I then worked on the individual figures using the long blue shadows to connect them. My goal was to communicate the feeling of serenity I experienced in that moment.