Follow up on beach days

Oh my goodness so this August and September was the most extraordinary for painting, I feel like I have progressed so much towards a vision that I've had for my work for some time.  It began with that wonderful day of hours on Hive beach, I've learnt so much from being in the places that I love. I've seen a lot of art this year and I've seen a lot of landscapes and with this submersion everything painterly has felt more natural and fluid and this makes me feel excited about times to come.

 

This view is from West Bay, Dorset looking towards Portland Bill on the horizon.  It is based on my first hours in the morning there. I walked out to the end of the harbour, there were very few people around; some couples walking and a family fishing for crabs. The water in the bay next to me was so still and calm I could have been sat at the edge of a lake. The atmosphere was very quiet and although the skies were bright out at sea we had some incredibly dark and heavy looking rain clouds drifting over from inland.  When the rain began I sheltered in a fishermans hut along with a few others including the fishing family; there was instantly a feeling of British camaraderie as everyone smiled politely to each other and commented on the weather.  I felt very at ease sat there listening to the chatter and the deluge outside; feeling safe and relatively warm drinking from my thermos of coffee and eating the cookies that I'd grabbed from home for breakfast.  For me this painting will hold that memory of the air, the light, the sound of the waves and the experience of sheltering from the beautiful British rain.