Coquina Shoreline | 11×14 | Oil on Panel
Inspiration for Coquina Shoreline
I painted the Atlantic Ocean proper for the first time in Coquina Shoreline during the Oil Painters of American National Exhibition. The OPA event included one full day of plain air painting adventures. The weather actually started out quite chilly and overcast, but by the afternoon, the sun had come out in force! Several of us artists took the opportunity to hit the beach with our easels at Washington Oaks State Park. We don’t have rocks of any sort on the Gulf Coast beaches where I grew up, so the site of coquina formations encrusted in vibrant green seaweed struck my fancy! The sun coming out from behind the clouds and lightning up the beach is always a beautiful sight.
The Near Disaster of Coquina Shoreline
“Near disaster” might be a little over the top, but it was interesting and makes a good story, haha! While I was painting en plein air, I didn’t take into account the rapidly rising tide. I grew up on the Gulf of Mexico, where tides are small, slow affairs that one doesn’t really notice. (I guess unless you’re a fisherman or surfer.) So after finding a good place to set down my easel, I really didn’t look up for an hour or so…until water began lapping at my feet! Within another 45 minutes the tide had covered the rocks and was up to my knees, forcing a hasty departure. Fortunately, fellow artist Kirk Larsen was on hand to film the event for your amusement!
https://www.facebook.com/kirk.larsen.92/videos/vb.733061040/10153194100441041/?type=3&theater
Fascinating Coquina Rock
I’ve been intrigued by coquina since I visited St. Augustine as a kid. That’s when I learned that the Castillo de San Marcos, the historic fort in St. Augustine, was made of coquina. The stone had the extremely unique property of being soft enough to “catch” cannonballs! Apparently the sedimentary rock, which is composed of shells, sort of deformed but didn’t shatter when struck. So the soldiers could pluck the cannonballs out of the walls and shoot them right back at their attackers! For a little boy, those stories were the stuff of legend! If you want to learn more about the stone or the fort, Wikipedia has good articles on both coquina and the Castillo de San Marcos.