You’re Crashing but you’re no Wave

My inspiration for this piece came from a girls weekend at the beach when a huge storm came through. We all sat in the beach house painting and watching the howling wind, rain, and waves grow bigger and bigger. My friend and I decided to seize the moment and get out there. The power of the waves and the wind was swirling from one direction to the other. We were laughing, taking a photos and running from the surf. It was absolutely exhilarating.
That was my goal in this painting I wanted the atmosphere and the beautiful shape and feel of the wave. Reviewing my resource photos I felt the only way to capture the true size and feel of the wave was to create deep pull of the surf as it builds in height and To do so, it needed the lovely shapes of the foam and sand being drawn in. I used gesso to add texture and graduation in colors to achieve my goal.