"Catchers in the Tide (Oystercatchers)"
Oil on board
12 x 6

This painting makes me laugh every time I look at it; not because of the subject matter but because of what happened before I saw this scene. If you are at familiar with the Outer Banks of North Carolina, particularly from Pea Island south, then you will understand the magic of being able to drive out onto the beach.

It was early November at the entrance to the beach access ramp at Oregon Inlet. I had just reached my destination after five hours of driving and was eager to get on the beach to start photographing the area wildlife. To drive on the deep sand of the beaches, you need a 4x4 with decent clearance and halfway deflated tires. It’s inevitable that you will encounter someone with a “regular” car who has attempted to drive on the beach and, of course, I did! As I am making my way down the ramp, I see these two people walking around their car, which is buried to the axels in the sand, looking at it like “Now how in the world did that happen?” As much as I wanted to get out to the shore line, I stopped. After introductions and pleasantries, I discover that neither of us have a tow rope but they do have a 100-foot extension cord. Yes, I pulled two people one mile off the beach with a 100-foot extension cord quadrupled between my Trooper and their Mazda Miata.

This painting is the scene that I saw immediately after getting the two stranded individuals off the beach and back onto solid pavement.