Sunrise

“It’s bigger than a painting, for one thing. It’s infinite, in a sense. A sunrise stretches across the whole sky, and behind it is the entire galaxy and the rest of the universe.”
― Josh Sundquist, Love and First Sight

Since January, we have been going to the beach each day to watch the sunrise. It was not a whim but a conscious decision on my part to begin my days as the sun rose over the ocean.

The ocean has always been my place of peace. When I can’t breathe, literally or figuratively, it is the only place that fills my lungs and my mind with hope and serenity. I can feel calmness wash over me just as easily as the waves sweep over the sand. I think that ebb and flow movement, that rhythm speaks to something deep in me. And I am not alone in this feeling, each morning I look around and see so many others facing the water just like me, feeling that same peace.

The sunrises are always different. Some days are intense and ablaze with color. Some days are soft and serene. Some days there is no sun, just clouds and fog. But even then, you can feel the pace of nature quicken just as the sun breaks over the horizon. The wind always seems to take notice and the waves reach up and break just a little bigger. Just for a few minutes there is a celebration and then everything settles back down as the day begins.

These sunrises stay with me long after I have left the beach and begun my day. I find myself thinking of them as I stand at my easel or run errands or make dinner for my mother. Sometimes it’s just a flash of a memory that comes to mind. Here and gone in a minute’s time. Sometimes I keep the memory and roll it over and over in my mind, thinking about the color of the sky, the crash of the waves, the feel of the wind and the movement of the clouds. I replay it, trying to make sense of it and think about how I could put all of that into a painting.

These mornings and these flashes of memory led to this little series of sunrise paintings. I wanted to keep them small and simple. I wanted to keep them as just a memory of a moment. Just like they feel in my mind and heart.