Low Tide at Whiting Beach

I just had to visit Sirius Cove (in Sydney). I had heard about Curlew Artists' Camp that the Australian Impressionists set up there in the 1890s, in order to paint the harbour, yet I had never visited the location.
The subject of this painting is Whiting Beach, which is a beautiful though tiny beach next to Sirius Cove.
The Australian Impressionists, like their European counterparts, wanted to capture the moment, so they had to paint fast.
Although the Impressionists were influenced by the invention of photography, they didn't paint from photographs but from life - en plein air. My use of photography - painting from photographs which I have personally taken - allows me time to reflect on that moment in time that I have experienced and which I am attempting to capture on canvas. For the en plein air painter, time is the enemy. On the other hand, using photos which I have personally taken of the subject allows me all the time I need to reflect at my leisure without the hinderance of the changing light effects.
I feel that this painting of Whiting Beach at low tide has captured the moment - the atmosphere - the joy of that overcast yet pleasant day I spent on the harbour.

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I am a retired high school art teacher, university professor, and pastor. As a young teenager growing up in Sydney I enjoyed plein air oil painting. The Australian landscape has been my interest all my life. Now, much older and after a number of changes in career, I am able to rediscover my love of oil landscape painting. No longer en plein air, I paint in my studio from photos I have taken on sight, having experienced the scene I endeavour to interpret on canvas.

I am not a self-expressionist; I don't see any worth in venting my feelings. Some of those must come through, I'm sure, but my focus is on God's Creation...the wonder of it. There is so much wonder and beauty to meditate upon. I paint, seizing the moment: waves in detail, surfers doing what they love, seagulls on the beach, two men strolling pensively on the shore and children playing carelessly in the sand, still others enjoying - just enjoying.

I love Sydney Harbour and the Northern Beaches. What a privilege to live here! I'm back from 20 years living overseas, and I find my life has come full circle - I'm painting again - with new vigour, interest, a wealth of experience to share and most of all, a fresh appreciation for the native beauty of this place I call home.