Mosteiros, Sao Miguel, Azores

These works of art were created en plein air, from a grassy bluff overlooking Atlantic breakers crashing on the black lava rocks of the Azorean shoreline of Mosteiros.

Mosteiros, acrylics on loose canvas, 12”x12”, brad betts, asma


The churning sea
like a glass
turquoise bottle
tipped with white blooms,
waving and rolling
in an open field
of blue
broken by black ledges,
twisted and sharp diffusers,
round and swirling
where the molten memory remains.

Warming skin,
soft tickle of loose tendrils,
quick touchdown
of a small fly.
The chill of a shadow
cast by the crater’s windward clouds.
Lumps and bumps,
a bed of grass
on a path
worn down by many travelers.

A ceaseless roar,
birdsong,
doors slamming,
tourist chatter.
Languages you understand
when your eyes are closed.
The twinkling
of paint brushes
spun clean,
the turquoise of the sea
left behind,
captured in a glass bottle.
— Danielle Betts

Storm Surf on Ocean Point

Storm Surf on Ocean Point is a 30” x 40” commission. The clients requested a painting of surf that was powerful yet reflective of the beauty of Ocean Point. I did 6 plein air and studio studies of the surf and rocks at one requested location until I found the composition I was looking for.

In the final painting, I attempted to capture the power of the incoming surf: distant white caps, a translucent wave just beginning to break, another curled and crashing against the rocks. To achieve the beauty, I focused on the time just after a storm, when the sea is still churning rough and wild but the skies are parting and peaks of sun are breaking through the clouds and lighting up the rocks and water in a moment of promise. I also strived to capture the sense of calm that we witness in even the wildest of storms… between the crashing waves, when water pools in soft reflections and gently spills like waterfalls.

“Storm Surf on Ocean Point”, 30”x40” oil painting by Brad Betts, ASMA

“Storm Surf on Ocean Point”, 30”x40” oil painting by Brad Betts, ASMA


The studies completed for this commission are available for purchase: