The Beginning of a New Day

Slowly the horizon out over the ocean is turning to a deep earthy red color. We that paint pictures, call the color Burnt Sienna. Above the horizon the sky is filling up with the colors of gold, green and up high the deep purple blues. The ocean is calm with all the sky colors reflecting off of the water. Low slow waves lazily roll toward the beach. They are not high enough to break so they are just dark lines moving along slowly toward me. Laughing Gulls are standing in the shallow surf waters like little statures.

I am sitting on my new folding chair with my watercolor painting equipment on a folding bench beside me waiting for the sun to come up. Recently I have been getting all the things I need to do “en plain air” watercolor paintings. “En plein air” is a French term meaning to paint outdoors a scene as you see it. I am doing all of this to prepare for being a member of the Geriatric Art Society (GAS) group. This is a group of retired men that are all watercolor painters that go on trips together. They do “en plien air” paintings and then critique each others paintings. Recently, they invited me to be a member of their group. My first trip with them will be to go to Nacogdoches, Texas, the last week of October. So the pressure is on to develop my skills to do “en plein air” paintings.

This morning, I am sitting on East Beach in Galveston, Texas. I am so glad that I am here experiencing this wonderful show of the ever changing colors in the sky and on the water as the big ball that I am sitting on rotates at a little more than one thousand miles an hour toward that big hot center of our solar system called the sun. The sun is now peeking above the horizon. There is a haze out over the ocean that is acting like a filter, so I can stare directly at the sun and see it clearly.

Furiously, I do the pencil sketches and start mixing the paints to start painting. Things are happening fast. That sun is rising so fast. Every time I look up the scene has changed. Doing these “en plein air” paintings is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. Nothing will stay still. Everything is constantly moving and changing colors. In my studio, I can use a hair dryer to speed up the drying of the watercolor paints before applying another wash. Here on the beach, I just have to wait in the humid air for the wash to dry while the scene before me continues to change every few seconds.

While waiting for the first wash to dry, a juvenile Laughing Gull flies over and lands nearby to check me out. Every time I look at him, he has moved a little closer. Together we watch the sun rise. The bird, now just a few feet from me, is so calm. He acts like he knows me. I wonder if the bird is a reincarnated friend or relative. While waiting for the next wash to dry, in my mind, I go down the list of friends and relatives that have died and wonder which may have come back as this young gull to be my companion to share with me this beautiful sunrise on the beach.

I thank whatever Gods that be, to have let me live long enough to be here, on this beach with my new friend at sunrise, watching the conception of a new day on this planet.