Distant Shores Britains West Coast

The west coast of Britain, the rocky shorelines, beautiful wide sandy coves and beaches whether Im looking directly out onto the North Atlantic or into the Irish sea, hold a fascination for me. I've sat and sketched and painted their topography on solo walking holidays from Lands End to Cape Wrath. Walking is a wonderful way of exploring the geography and sense of a place,  coastal walking with the moving shining sea on one side and hard rock or rolling meadows on the other is in a different league. The rhythm of one's stride and the rhythm of the surf, the passing of the sunrise  to sunset and a night packed with stars is a joy. I always took these days as a holiday from landscapes but now and over the last two or three years I have begun to take my coastal experiences seriously, the walks have made a deep impact in my visual memory and years later I like what I see emerging in the paint. The brightness and movement of large areas of gas and liquid give feast of freedom and light, birthing gestures and marks unknown to a world more solid. The watercolour below one of many memory sketches in pencil and watercolour..............