The Cape

From Atop

Original oil painting 16x20"

by Susan Roux

More beach scenes keep pouring out of me as I prepare my body of work for delivery at the Blue Heron Gallery in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Wellfleet is on Cape Cod. The Cape is a beautiful place and I'm thrilled to return year after year. I've explored so many corners of it. I love bringing new people with me to take the two-day trip. They become my travel buddies.

Everyone is amazed with this gem of a place. Its off season when I deliver, so congestion is not an issue. Its like having the Cape to ourselves! Of course the beautiful flora comes later and to experience that, you must deal with the full hustle and bustle that tourist season brings.

Both bring me great joy.

One of my favorite things about the Cape is you can drive to both sides in a few minutes. The beach is always salty, but each side has its own special characteristics. To the wide Atlantic, the tall sand dunes aim to protect. Nature is wild however and it continues to carve them. Much like a painting, they are a work in progress. Every year their shapes are altered.

On the bay side, there are no pounding waves. The beaches are flat and long and the ebbing tide pulls the ocean far away from the dry sand. Sandbars appear. Grasses grow in the shallows. When the tide is high, the summertime green grasses dance in blue water. I love the shapes they make. In fall, the grass is orange. It can be spectacular swaying in the blue...

This painting is of the Atlantic side. From the parking lot, you approach high atop the dunes. The ocean appears all at once as a surprise. I wanted to capture that feeling, but I nearly gave up on it.

The front grasses gave me quite a challenge. After letting it stand for a few days I returned to try and gain control. Just as in Beach Path, those pesky, beautiful, sunlit grasses come together better second time around!

Maybe the accomplishment is sweeter when we work harder for it...