Deception Pass Sunset

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On Tuesday, April 26, 2005, I visited The Class Act Gallery in LaConner. I found a painting called the Sunrise Over Deception Pass which caught my eye. Sunrise Over Deception Pass was painted with "Transparent Oil on 22 Karat Gold Leaf" by Randy VanBeek. Randy Van Beek is from the Bellingham area. This is Randy Van Beek's description of his painting. "The gold leaf is hand gilded, applied to gessoed wood panels, using techniques that have been used for hundreds of years. Sterling silver leaf is then inlayed into portions of the composition where color or atmospheric changes are desired, as in the clouds or ripples on the water. The oil paint is then glazed in multiple layers of transparent mixes, allowing the gilded leaf to show through. The combined techniques create an atmosphere and sense of sparking light in a further attempt to represent the affects of sunlight and water" (Van Beek).

Randy started with a smaller version on original oil with far less affect than the larger version painted on gessoed wood panels. The light print is done on three panels. Looking from the entrance door of the store on the right hand side next to the stair case, the painting sits high above the counter. The view from the right side is breath taking. The details of the sunlight on the water stand out as the sunlight from the entrance door shines on the painting. Imagine how sunlight ripples the water during a sunrise. The sunlight on the water is dominant in vertical row in the center of the painting. The interesting thing about this is the more I move to the right with the sunlight coming into the store; the more golden sunlight appears on the water. In a closer view, it appears that the sunlight on the water begins to give away; it appears to be like magic. The painting image is centered between what I believe is east of the Deception Pass bridge. The bridge runs alongside the naval base and points toward Anacortes from right to left.

Sunrise Over Deception Pass is an aerial design. The painting is done in such a way that it stays with its subject matter. It appears that the view is from a plane looking down at the water but also is also parallel to Mount Baker. Some of the smallest details can be seen such as the drift wood washed up on the beach. A close up view of the painting reveals a texture that is somewhat rough and appears that the trees pop out of the painting. This is definitely a painting that I would like to touch if allowed. There are a multiple combinations of grays and blues to form the shelf of the ridges of the island and mountains.

My interpretation of this artistic painting is that the author had no intentions of his painting having a historic reference or value, but having the content and subject matter to be of the natural beauty of Deception Pass during sunrise.