The Story of The Moolack Shores
THE STORY
Have you ever taken a road trip where you didn’t plan anything and just went with the flow? While some might find this experience a powerful way to induce anxiety, others like myself find the discovery of something new or unexpected to be the spice of life.
This is exactly how this painting came to be.
My husband William and I were returning from our road trip in Utah, and we decided to take the long way home, book it across Nevada and California on "The Loneliest Road in America" U.S. Route 50, and then drive up the coast back to Vancouver. Even though this added a couple of days to our trip, it was so worth it. We were making decisions on where to stay purely by gut feeling, guided by Google maps, and the Moolack Shores Inn felt like it was the right place for us.. It was close enough to home so we could make the next leg of the trip in one day, and it had available rooms. What more can you ask for…. other than a cold 6 pack of beer after a long day's drive!
We didn’t have any expectations, we just wanted a place where we could order some pizza and cozy up for the night before we hit the road the next day, but little did we know that we were in for one of the best surprises of the trip.
THE PLACE
The hotel sat right on the cliff edge above the beach and all the rooms had stunning ocean views. You could walk down the stairs from the hotel right onto the beach, and so we went exploring, soaking in the sunset, and hunting for good reference photography. It was the rock formation embedded in the sand that really drew in my eye. Everything around was as if it was set up perfectly for a painting! The long shadows cast from the rocks, the reflection of the sky in the pool of water around them, the warm glow created by the salt mist in the distance and best of the cherry on top was the shape of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse perched up against the sky. We walked on the beach as everything transitioned from a golden glow to a deeper blue of the coming nighttime, and I knew that one of my best memories and one of my favourite paintings was going to be created that day.
MAGAZINE ARTICLE
The painting itself was the subject of a demonstration article where I talked about my process and technique in the International Artists Magazine (Issue #131 February / March 2020).
I ended up documenting the painting process in step by step photos which was an interesting challenge, as I don’t often talk about the painting process. Having to put it into words for the article really made me think through each step of the painting. I was constantly scrutinizing my decisions, and it gave me a better understanding of what truly is and isn’t necessary in the process of my work.
A lot of the time I paint based on feeling, and once an element of the painting starts to feel good, I move on to the next. Through this experience though, I was working out more of a “predictive feeling” ability. I was constantly asking myself, “If I change the balance of light and dark, cool and warm, how will it make the composition feel? How will it affect the mood of the painting? Am I strengthening the focal point of the piece with this, or is it drawing focus away from it?”
Perhaps it was the pressure of the article going out to thousands of readers around the world, or the fact that I had to explain my process in depth at every step rather than just do it, but it was definitely a great next step in my growth as an artist.
Thank you for reading till the end. Enjoy the process images and if you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact me as I love to talk with anyone who loves and follows my work.
Cheers,
Olga.
