The inspiration for "Daybreak" came from a photographic card published by the Sierra Club. When I contacted the photographer for permission to paint it, he told me the location of the beach is on the island of Kauai, a view from Ke'e Beach looking down the Na Pali Coast. A windsurfer friend looked at the photo and said, "Oh yeah, surfers call that wave "mares heads". He didn't realize how profound his comment was to me, for I had discovered I could find the shapes of horses in waves, and this phenomenon was apparently something other people unconsciously perceived.
Thirteen horses race the dawn
"Driven by the offshore wind they form
the gift of Poseidon, god of the sea.
Mares of water, salt, and foam,
dancing in dawn's first light to me."
