Donald Diddams
The Art of Digital Art
By the Sea
Offshore Reef -- 2010
Much of St. Croix is fringed by an offshore reef. On windy days or when there is a swell running large waves will crash on the reef. While the inshore waters remain relatively calm, the usual dark line at the horizon becomes snowy-white. On this afternoon some low clouds were drifting nearby, echoing the colors of the shallower water near shore.
Illusions can creep up while standing quietly on the shoreline. The lone palm tree in the image below dwarfed the few chairs and sunbathers on either side. When the sun ducked behind a cloud softening the shadows, the otherwise bald beach seemed a fairyland in blues.
Fairyland in blues -- 2010
Donald Diddams 
“a fairyland in blues”
I like that line.
“Take me to the beach. I’ve ignored it for too long … and it’s time to make my sacrifice of pale skin and bad shorts.
Hopefully that will be enough.
It’s all I have.”
Thanks planetross! And is “Take me to the beach … for a sacrifice of pale skin…” another favorite of yours?
Ooo, love love love this one! It reminds me a lot of my pastel Lakshadweep.
I have ended up living as far away from ocean as possible … in Japan!! That’s a hard thing to do. I don’t know how that happened.
(maybe there are a few places in Hokkaido that are further, but I’m close)
I just made those lines up … I was feeling prosetical or flimsical or something.
these have to be the hottest summeriest pieces of art i have seen all winter:) great work as always!
Wonderful pictures! Love the colors of gentle greens and blues, beautiful clouds. I can feel my feet sinking into the wet sand on a perfect Summers day.
Thanks for the comments!
Jala – It does have the same sort of feel as some of your pastels. I realized that when I had finished it.
planetross – Now you’ll just have to get down to the shore more, even if it doesn’t have that Caribbean blue
rahina – Glad you liked them! I forget sometimes that those in the north begin to feel starved for the hot summer about this time of year! I always did.
starlaschat – Thanks so much for visiting. There are days the colors are just like that with puffy clouds floating by.
beautiful colors! i especially like the horizontal composition with the ‘white’ waves in “Offshore Reef”. the abstractness of it, too. I can almost hear the sound of waves. both pieces really pull my eyes into a wonderful peaceful space. which is remarkable in that there is so much color, like pinks, golds, greens, even umbers in there. you managed to pull all that in and come up with something that says blue in such vibrant light and stillness.
Oh, thank you tipota! There is so much blue here, especially by the sea, that it is easy to forget about all the other colors. But they are there and by their presence make the blues even more compelling. I feel honored by the words “vibrant light and stillness”.
Beautiful ! Makes me want to go back to St. Croix immediately.
Oh, Donald. these are SO…. Blissful? Beatific? Blue-rific? Beautemous? (OK, now I’m jsut making words up!) Beam me up to St Croix, Scotty!
Carol, thanks for visiting here! Wish you could also visit this sunny blue sea!
R, thanks so much for stopping by! I like “blue-rific” the best. I must have timed this post right for those with a little summer-deficit disorder!
Such lovely blues.
The bottom image looks to me like a cross between a photomicrograph of a hair and something that Rothko would’ve painted if he’d been on anti-depressants.
Hi razzbuffnik! There sure are a lot of blues in the world.. this is just a small sample! Funny, you are the first to notice the resemblence of that palm tree to a giant hair in its follicle. I had trouble seeing past that for a while. Thanks for the comment!
Beautiful and exciting work! The colors are intense and I love the texture.
Thanks so much, Carol! Stop by again!