Artistic Inspirations: Caribbean Sunrise to Canvas - Creative Journeys Along the Coast

My Short Creative Journeys Along the Caribbean Coast

As an artist, I find that my deepest inspiration comes not from the confines of a studio, but from immersing myself in the world around me. Each brushstroke on my canvas tells a story of experiences, moments lived, and colors absorbed through all my senses. Today, I invite you to join me on a journey that begins with the early morning light and ends with a finished seascape that captures not just an image, but an entire sensory experience.

Pre-Dawn Bike Ride Along the Caribbean Coast

At 6 am before sunrise, the city of Cancun is still asleep. I woke up with the stars still in the sky, slung my small bag with my GoPro camera over my shoulder, and rode my bike through the quiet streets. There is something magical about traveling through Cancun as it slowly awakens—the buildings under construction shimmering in the soft light of street lamps, random early workers slowly getting ready for their day.

The first rays of the sun began to touch the stone walls, creating a palette of soft orange and deep purple shades. Usually the path goes along the embankment in Cancun. This is an amazingly calm place that the city residents admire and where they can relax with a beautiful view of the Nichupté Lagoon. Passing it, I am already pedaling through the hotel zone of Cancun. How beautiful it is to see these well-kept and differently designed hotels. I meet rare runners, usually tourists who are involved in running.

Arriving at the Caribbean Shore: An Artist's Inspiration

And here, finally, the first smell of salt in the air announced my approach to the coast. Then a sound was heard—a distant rhythmic pounding of waves on the shore.

Around the last turn, the Caribbean Sea opened up—an endless blue space that defies any name or shade. I leaned my bike against a palm tree and stood rooted to the spot. The morning light played across the surface of the water, creating a dancing mosaic of turquoise, cobalt and azure. This is why I come here—at this moment, nature is holding a master class in color theory that no textbook can describe.

Observing the Caribbean Sea: A Study in Color and Light

I found a comfortable spot on the sand and began what I consider to be the most important part of my creative process. I watched the sunlight refract across the surface of the water, creating thousands of tiny reflections. I studied how the waves formed, rose and dissolved—each with its own character and rhythm.

The colors were constantly changing—from deep blue-green in the distance to foamy white where the waves met the shore. I noticed dark green hues in the shadows of the water, turquoise highlights where the sunlight fell at just the right angle. Nature's palette is never static and simple. It breathes and transforms with every passing minute.

Dreams and Reflections on the Shore

With warm sand, cloudy skies and endless horizons, my mind began to wander in that fertile space where observation meets imagination. This is where my best ideas are born, which come from being fully present.

I thought about upcoming exhibitions, about new trends in art that I wanted to explore, about stories that I wanted to tell with my paintings. The rhythmic sound of the waves became the background for these thoughts, somehow organizing them, washing away the unnecessary and leaving only what is truly important.

Capturing Moments: Photography as a Bridge

While my highest expression is achieved through paint, my camera serves as an important bridge between experience and the studio. I spent an hour photographing different aspects of the seascape—close-ups of foam patterns, the horizon line at different exposures, interesting textures where the water meets the sand.

 

These photographs are not meant to be reproduced exactly in paint—that would completely defeat the purpose. Instead, they serve as anchors in memory, reminding me of a particular quality of light, unusual combinations of colors, or a particular energy of the sea that morning.

Artist Dmitry Spiros - Studio Process

Later that day, back in my studio, I laid out my photographs as stimuli for sensory memories of that morning. The real work began with choosing the right-sized canvas—one large enough to convey the breadth I felt on the beach. I usually prefer a canvas that is 47 x 59 inches, to allow room for detail as well as width.

My palette was formed from the morning's observations: deep phthalo blue for the distant water, cobalt and ultramarine for the mid-ground with hints of viridian. For brightness I mixed titanium white with a little cadmium yellow. The sky should be a greenish azure, with hints of pink to suggest the pre-dawn twilight.

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