Jim Schaefer - Cape Hatteras Paintings

These paintings were inspired by a trip I made to Cape Hatteras in September of 1999. Two major hurricanes had recently passed, and another was far offshore, kicking up the surf. The weather was clear, but the waves were hitting the beach with a bone-crushing intensity such that one would be a fool to try to enter the water. When I got home I painted some impressions from memory. I took the 22" x 30" watercolor paper which I often work on and ripped it the long way, creating a panoramic, horizontal view which is perhaps natural for landscapes or seascapes. Then I got a really wild idea and decided to place the paper vertically, painting the traditional "horizontal" subject in a contradictory vertical composition as in Hatters Surf #4 below.

Click on image for "large image".