IF: Summer!

I thought this would be an appropriate illustration to post up for the first official day of summer, and summer is also the word of the week for Illustration Friday. Actually, it's not a new piece but one from a few years ago that I discovered recently while organizing my studio and realized I never posted it to my blog. Being raised in the Midwest, I didn't spend much time at the ocean- just a trip to California when I was eight, where my memory of seeing the Pacific can be summed up in was that it was very cold (in June) and my sister and I got one picture standing in front of it from a distance, bundled up in our sweaters, before we were ready to pile back into the warm car. It was eighteen years before I visited the ocean again and that was a completely different, much more blissful experience. I was in complete awe, and I can't begin to describe how wonderful it felt to set my feet in that water for the first time. Even though I didn't get to experience that kind of joy as a kid, I felt like one the second time around and wanted to capture it an illustration. Although I should note I did take some artistic license with the seagulls, with who I did not have the most pleasant experience. Beginners tip for visiting the ocean- seagulls are not ducks. Do not attempt to feed them unless you want to recreate a scene from The Birds.