01426 EPHEMERAL

           There is a fascinating reason behind the brilliant, intense colors in the marsh.  Spartina Alterniflora, the primary marsh of the East Coast, develops a waxy coating to protect it from seawater salinity.  These vast fields, basically all the same height, create specular, mirror-like, surfaces - especially when the tide is low and the grass is wet from the tide or morning dew.  Low light rays in early morning or late afternoon hit the shiny surface causing specular reflection.  The light bounces off at the exact angle it arrived causing the rays to be parallel, rather than scattered as they would be on an uneven surface.  This low angle is perfect for the painter to capture the vibrant colors that are unavailable in the middle of the day.  Sometimes the specular reflection is a flash of light, sometimes it will move across the marsh and then, at times, it will linger just long enough.  A dark sky only intensifies the effect.  My painting, EPHEMERAL, a 12” x 36” (30 x 91 cm) oil on canvas, illustrates an early morning incidence of specular reflection.