Neck Point Park on Vancouver Island, near Nanaimo, BC, Canada, is a jewel amongst a wooded urban setting. I have painted several of the beaches there, both in studio and en plein air. In the winter there are more logs tossed ashore and more waves. The water looks darker on a windy winter day than in the summer. The bark of the Arbutus trees stands out more in the winter as a few of their leaves drop, but not all. I enjoy the challenge of painting waves and depicting the lower light angles seen in the winter (while creating subsequent