Sandy Beach Gouache

A rare gouache painting en plein air by Michele Cooper

I always tell myself that this will simply be a sketch, no big deal. I know one thing, I will learn something.  So every attempt on location will be successful in some way. I liked the result of my on location gouache at Sandy Beach. In this case, I would call it a plein air painting, not a sketch. 

Before there were children to watch, my daughter-in-law and I would take a deluxe collection of plein air equipment, including lunch, and spend hours painting on location. You pull into parking right off Kalanianaole Highway, there's sometimes an ice cream or food truck, and facilities with a water fountain. This is Sandy Beach, off the southeastern shore of Oahu, sometimes called Obama's beach. If the swells are up you can see the blow hole from there. 

Set up to spend the day at Sandy Beach