Judith T. Irwin
Port of Oakland @ 5:34pm
Port of Oakland @ 5:34pm
Acrylic on Canvas, 36" by 36", 2023
Everyday there is a chance that there will be a colorful sunset over the San Francisco Bay.
On a chilly afternoon in November bundled up warm clothes we readied for ourselves for a sunset boating adventure on the bay. My stomach was a bit excited about the idea of being on the bay in a boat, but not nervous enough to say no I didn’t want to go.
Sunset would be in 2hours and I was determined to take the perfect photo or two not only to remember this moment in time but capture the beauty of the San Francisco Bay at sunset in a painting about the golden hour of time.
All aboard. My friend with his love for the mechanics of power pushes down on the throttle and we zoomed off underneath the Bay bridge and out towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Bobbing around in the bay for a bit watching the sun disappear and the golden light of the sunset catch on the peaks of each wave creating a symphony of shimmering light across the water. The light at 4:40pm was just perfect to begin taking as many pictures as possible of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge saturated in sunset light. We boated around taking in the beauty of the San Francisco skyline underneath the setting sun. It was starting to get dark and our 3hr adventure was coming to an end quickly. We zoom over the Port of Oakland the 2nd largest container shipping port on the west coast, the sun had pretty much disappeared and it was twilight by the time we arrived at the port. For taking pictures of Port of Oakland the absence of sunlight didn’t matter, it was lit up underneath the glow of flood lights. The bright yellow hues of the lights in juxtaposition of the deep purple twilight sky made the perfect picture to inspire a painting.
These paintings capture the beauty of the San Francisco Bay under the setting sun.