wide beach at sunset in El Capitan State Beach

Just north of Santa Barbara, this campground and adjacent beach offers easy ocean access and some nice views north and south. While walking the beach I saw dolphins popping up near shore as they chased a school of dinner between them and the shore.

I like to walk at “magic hour” when the shadows are long and the light changes in dramatic ways. I chose this scene because of the exposed sedimentary layers tipped by uplifting forces underneath. In the sunset light the usually boring layers of earth were electrified in front of me.

Coastal Geology Exposed and Lit by Sunset

I came back the next day with pencil and watercolor paper pad to capture the composition. Because the light changes so fast in “magic hour” you can’t hope to watercolor en plein air. The painting below was composed on site in pencil but the watercolor was added later in my mobile studio while looking at the Sunset photo.

Watercolor painting of warm view of cliff at sunset where exposed sedimentary layers and pink beach were lit brightly and colorful. — 11″ x 14″ study of erroding cliff along the beach in Southern California. The painting began as a study in the late afternoon with the western sun shining warmly on the reddish soil causing an orange cast on the exposed layers of soil. Coniferous trees green in winter contrast with the orange light.

I tend to exaggerate colors especially where there is an interesting color or adjacency. The combination of sunset lighting and my emphasis on colors may be a bit much for some but I like it, for the present.