The consistency of a day beginning and a day ending, sunrise and sunset, yet the uniqueness of each day, each offering a new beginning, each an ending. The span of time—Time being realized and the passing of time is illustrated so literally watching the sun rise and set.
There’s something magical about watching the sun rise and set. Maybe it’s the rapid progression of light filling the sky first thing in the morning or watching it fade at nightfall, or maybe it’s just the fact that it makes one aware of how quickly time passes. Within minutes the flow of sunrise burst into the dawn of a new day. Likewise, in evening, a glowing sun slowly sinks into the sky, and then we see it no more in an instant. This progression of time fascinates me and keeps my palette alive with yellows, reds, and oranges. Perhaps more than any year in the past, 2020 and the beginning of 2021 have brought the passing of time to the forefront. One day leads to another, the unknown ahead. Enjoying evening walks to the beach to watch the sunset and up early to watch it rise became an event in my life. It took the place of visiting with friends and going out to eat. My sunrises and sunsets marked each day we came closer to being back to a relatively normal way of life. Enjoying each sunrise and sunset gave me inspiration for a new painting, more so this year than any other. Hope for a new day. Thanks for the day done.
Loosely painted, Awakening, in its soft color relationship, is a capture of time of uncertainty. Light is abstractly filling the canvas through warm and cool grays of dawn. It’s more the emotion of sunrise, the beginning of a new day, rather than the actual sunrise itself. Little definition to the landscape enhances this feeling, directing the viewer to think less of an exact place and more towards the procession of light filling the sky.
There’s a quiet little cove I’ve watched the sun rise over for so many years. Nothing brings me such inner peace to wake up to see the small boats tied to their moorings welcoming a new day. The still waters, the cry of the sea birds, and the warming sun rising from over the sea early in the morning. Boats at Dawn captures this inner peace. Boats at Dawn has a totally different feeling from Awakening. It’s the beginning of a sunny summer day. The cool blue sky filling with light as it reflects on the water and shore. It feels safe and peaceful. The small boats tucked into the sandy cove await a day on the ocean.
Unlike the warm yellows, oranges, and reds of some of my other sunrises, Enlightened and Midsummer Sunrise focuses on the mornings’ cool blues, allowing a few warm lights to peak through. They both show the presence of light without showing the source. The focus is more on the cloud formations stretching over the shore at dawn. There’s beauty in the blues, but a sunny day ahead is questionable.
The two sunsets, Last Glow and Retreat are very different from one another, yet both sunsets happened on the same beach. Last Glow is vibrant and fiery, signaling a last hurrah, while in Retreat the sun quietly sinks below the horizon without a lot of commotion. There’s an elegant silence to this one.
Below are several links to learn more about Ready and see all of her available works.