Revisiting Maine Rocks

I painted the small version of this view on the beach in Maine on a hazy day with a yellow sky.  I'd painted it on a small gesso board, which made the paint slip around.

Working in the studio,  I took out a larger canvas to rethink the scene.  I started out with the same chiseled rocks that I'd painted in the smaller painting, but after days of carving them out, I realized that they were too geometric, too dominant as shapes and I needed to think more holistically about the experience of the rock beach.

The larger painting has fewer rocks that appear as individuals, and more of a pattern of light and shade.  The rocks further out on the beach are even more vague, which I think does a better job of conveying the scene.