Artwork Details
Title: Awaken
Artist: Sandra Kavanaugh
Medium: Pastel on paper
Dimensions: 12" × 36"
Overview
Awaken is a serene panoramic coastal marsh pastel by contemporary New England artist Sandra Kavanaugh. This wide 12" × 36" painting captures the quiet stillness of a tidal estuary at dawn, where soft early-morning light reflects across glassy water and golden marshland.
Why Collect This Work
Peaceful and expansive, Awaken brings the quiet beauty of the New England shoreline into a graceful panoramic format. The composition opens across a broad tidal marsh, with a winding inlet on the left, warm marsh grasses on the right, and a low silhouetted treeline stretching across the horizon.
A small white coastal homestead draws the eye into the distance, adding a gentle sense of place and scale. Soft lavender, slate blue, cream, ochre, olive, and umber tones work together to create a calm dawn atmosphere. The result is a soothing, light-filled landscape ideal for collectors who appreciate coastal marshes, atmospheric light, and tranquil contemporary Impressionism.
Highlights
Technique and Surface
- Medium: Professional-grade soft pastels on premium fine art paper.
- Technique: Broad horizontal strokes create the water’s calm, mirror-like surface, while delicate scumbling adds depth to the marsh grasses. Soft blending across the sky captures the gradual shift of morning light.
- Style: Contemporary Impressionism with a Tonalist sensibility, emphasizing quiet light, atmospheric harmony, and the peaceful relationship between water, land, and sky.
- Composition: The 3:1 panoramic format opens across a broad tidal marsh. A winding inlet moves through the left side of the scene, balanced by golden marshland on the right, a low silhouetted treeline, and a small white coastal homestead in the distance.
- Color palette: Pale lavender, soft slate blue, and gentle cream reflections create a cool dawn atmosphere, complemented by warm golden ochres, muted olive greens, and deep umber shoreline shadows.
Inventory Status: Available for purchase online or in the gallery.
Shipping / Pickup: Shipping is available worldwide. Each artwork is securely packaged in professional archival materials, insured, and shipped globally. Complimentary local pickup is also available at our 23 North Main Street gallery.
