Seaside Hideaway

There are breathless moments of delicious tranquility when it seems Nanette and I are alone in the world – alone, that is, with our God. In those moments, the world we share is a perfect harmony: land, sea, and sky all seem to be one. God’s vast creation feels like our private hideaway.

Seaside Hideaway evokes the mood of rapture we feel at such times. This is a glorious sunset; spray from the breaking waves drenches the air with mist, and a radiant light bathes clouds and swells with its golden glow, until the eye can scarcely tell where sky ends and sea begins. The towering, wispy clouds resemble angels in the searchlight of God’s grace; gulls fly up toward the heavenly light.

The cottage hideaway, with its slate roof and massive flagstone walls which echo the boulders on the shore, is enveloped in flowers and graced by climbing roses – the lavish palette of sunset paints the cottage as well. Warm lights gleam through the myriad windows; we can image the cozy, congenial scene within. Smoke billows through many chimneys, rising to join the clouds; the cottage is splendidly suited to its sunset world.

Seaside Hideaway is the first in a matched set of four paintings entitled Seaside Hideaway I, that celebrate the divine gift of privacy.