The Process:
Tidecarved | 2025
The sea has carved a passage through stone, a quiet threshold between permanence and change. In this painting, the balance of light and mist suggests a rare calm, a safe harbor where the sun feels welcome to emerge.
This work reflects that meeting of tides and time - a reminder that every crossing, whether in nature or life, holds both echoes of the past and the promise of what’s ahead.
Initial block-in of the main elements in the painting, establishing form and composition.
Begin building up the forms with midtones. Add layers on cliffs to establish dimension and texture. Lay in dark and mid-tones to build richer value breadth.
Establish mid-range and lighter values. Add distant fog, lighten background to keep focus on the foreground arch. Begin building water depth and cliff highlights.
Smoothen cliffs to remove unnecessary details from buildup stage. Focus on structure of rock and capturing the feeling rather than depicting minute details. Lighten foreground.
Add highlights to background and cliffs. Add final touches to lighter cliff areas, and several dark spots for contrast and better form depiction. Add highlights to foreground and water. The painting is complete!