Dan's Papers Cover Artist Edwina Lucas Paints 'Montauk Rocks'

This week’s Dan’s Papers cover artist Edwina Lucas painted “Montauk Rocks” en plein air at Ditch Plains. “I was inspired to paint this work after looking at the seascapes of Winslow Homer,” Lucas says. “I was struck by Homer’s ability to paint the relationship between the sea and the rocks, when liquid meets solid. The way a wave crashes against a boulder or drags itself across stones. His mastery of this subject transports the viewer,” she explains.

“When I look at his paintings I can hear the waves crashing and feel the movement of the tide. Homer painted most of his seascapes in Maine where the coastline is very rocky. In order to find a similar view, I had to drive out to Montauk.” Lucas continues, “There are three blues on my palette at all times: cerulean, cobalt and ultramarine. I use each blue, usually combined with one or two other colors, for the different portions of the wave’s trajectory. It takes many different color combinations to create the illusion that a wave is rising, curling and/or crashing.”

What do you plan to paint this summer?
I will be having my first ever solo show at Ille Arts in Amagansett, so I will be spending most of my time preparing for that. I plan to paint some large-scale florals, as well as some seascapes, landscapes and animals.

What are some of your favorite summer activities?
I enjoy most summer seaside activities. Some of my favorites include boating, long ocean days, paddle boarding and, of course, painting.

If you could hang out on the beach with any artist in history, who would it be and what would you talk about?
It would be Winslow Homer. I would ask him as many questions as I could about painting and color theory.

What else would you like our readers to know about you and your work?
I believe in the power of beautiful things. I choose to paint subjects that quiet my mind, capture my attention and stir my spirit. Natures, and its infinite evolution, provide me with such material.

I paint from life and in natural light as often as possible. My mother, who is an outstanding artist, taught me how to paint with oils when I was five years old and I haven’t wanted to stop since.

Where can readers see more of your work?
Ille Arts in Amagansett, the Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor, and on my website, edwinalucas.com.

What was the response to your first Dan’s Papers cover in September, 2018?
I recall receiving a lot of congratulatory text messages after my first Dan’s Papers cover. It was a painting of ducks swimming in a pond.