Winter Surfer at Swami's

It has been extremely warm this winter - I have painted at Swami's a few times recently.  The weather brings out the people, the surfers, the families and the painters.  Instead of doing a standard seascape I decided to focus in on the surfers.  I took a few photos and got a shot of a surfer dropping in on a big glassy wave.  So, I started with the colors I saw in front of me as the waves came in, and when I was ready to put the surfer in I referenced my camera for position, proportion and shadows.  It is always magical to paint on the beach, for me it is and I hope I capture some of that energy.