The Wave Watchers

Painting of Friends Sitting on the Rocky Shore Watching Stormy Waves in Cape Elizabeth, Maine

An original painting of four teenagers watching the waves during a storm off the coast of Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Painting by Dominic White
The Wave Watchers, 2003 Prints for sale here.

One of my favorite things to do growing up on coastal Massachusettes was to go to the beach during intense storms and watch the waves. After moving to Maine this past time became even more enjoyable and dramatic. Instead of watching the waves roll up on sandy beaches I get to watch them crash against rocky cliffs. Where I grew up on Massachusetts Bay, the waves were tempered by Cape Cod. On the shores of Cape Elizabeth, just south of Portland where this painting takes palce, the wind and wave is unfettered across the Atlantic, slowing down only when careening into the marine slate of Maine’s rugged shoreline.

On one of my first trips to Cape Elizabeth to watch the waves created by a powerful offshore storm, I was happy to see I wasn’t the only one who enjoyed it. A group of teenagers were sitting calmly in a row atop the cliff, bundled up against the rain. I don’t think they knew I was there taking photos of them, but they didn’t move, seemingly transfixed by the roiling ocean in front of them.

Original Painting

The original painting is 9×12 inches on panel and painted with heat-set oil paints. Heat-set oil paints were actually closer to screen printing ink. It had the advantage of not drying until you applied a heat gun to it. I loved working with these paints as it gave me tremendous flexibility. Unfortunately the company who made them went out of business and other versions of them are prohibitively expensive.

The orignial painitng has been Sold, but prints of The Wave Watchers are available for purchase at my online print store.

Purchase The Wave Watchers Prints

Custom framed prints, canvas prints, metal prints, and other products featuring the painting, The Wave Watchers, are available at my print site, https://fineartnewengland.pixels.com/.