By the Shore centers on a monumental scholar rock, removed from the usual setting of a study or garden, instead it is placed within a larger open environment. The scale shifts the rock from an intimate object to something almost geological. Influences from Georgia O’Keeffe and J. M. W. Turner appear in the treatment of color and atmosphere. The fluid magenta shape in the foreground pushes against the solidity of the rock and the calm of the distant horizon, creating a dialogue between organic form and invented gesture. A faint sun on the horizon hints at the immensity of the scene and the slow passage of time.