This painting depicts the Pamet Harbor seawall jutting out into Massachusetts Bay, as seen from Corn Hill Beach in Truro. In the far distance, one can just make out the shoreline of Wellfleet a bit further to the south. It was one of those beautifully bright and clear early October afternoons on Cape Cod. The air was warm, but the sky was showing signs of the rain and chill that would come later that evening. The part I most enjoyed painting was the cloud bank that blends into the horizon.

The challenge in this painting was trying to get the washed up seaweed and white foam on the water to look believable and to create the sense distance on the curve towards the sea wall. The other challenge was that despite the warmth it was a windy day. Consequently, the sand was blowing up and sticking in my wet paint and the painting board was trying to escape the clamps on my easel. I had to keep a firm hand on my palette to stop it from blowing away down the beach.

I gave up after an hour or so because the wind had exhausted me and the painting was rattling so much in the clamps that I could not get a good brush mark. As soon as I got back to the house I was able to finish it from memory and get in all the straight lines the composition needed but the wind would not allow.