“Stacking – Bracklesham” 50 x 50 cm Acrylic on canvas
One afternoon the week before last I was painting in my studio when I put down my brushes, went into the house, and said to Ruth “You know, sometimes I get so full-up I could burst!”
I’d been working on the foreground breaker in the above painting ‘Stacking – Bracklesham’. I know I’ve said before how much I enjoy trying to replicate the delicate lacework of tumbling water. I’d been working on it for some hours – truly ‘in the zone’ as they say, and I had almost literally, reached bursting point. How lucky am I, hey? And this is work! 
It’s more than fair to say that all my recent beach paintings are in much the same format and quite heavily stylised – I think they have to be. If I was the realist people seem to think I am there would be no difference between the painting and a photo and as anyone who’s ever tried photographing breakers will know – photo’s are always disappointing. Why is this? It’s because as you witness the sea all your senses are interpreting the scene. The noise, the wind, the spray on your skin, the shere magnificence and power of the waves. Take a snap – and it’s lost – it’s just a picture! My job is to try and put some of that back.
The biggest breakers are always several hundred yards out, breaking, reforming, breaking, spilling, constantly getting smaller as they lose their energy – and oh, what fun to paint! Figurative paintings aren’t popular these days – abstract artists make a much better living – but you know what? I feel sorry for them – boy are they missing a treat!
This painting is sold – a chap who’d seen my work in Billy’s contacted me and bought the piece as soon as he saw it – now that’s the way it’s supposed to happen. My friend Trish once introduced me to a figure painter, Bob (damned if I can remember his surname) he had a fabulous muse cottage just north of Hyde Park. Bob didn’t trouble with galleries – he had a list of potential collectors a yard long. They’d just turn up, pick a painting and go. That’s success to my way of thinking.
The postman brought me a treat Friday morning – 2 tubes of Atelier Blue Black Acrylic Paint – that’s the predominate colour in this painting, and as near to Indigo as you’re going to get in acrylic. Few people stock Atelier and a month ago there wasn’t a tube of Blue Black in the country – not that I could find. Not a hard mix it has to be said – Phalo Blue Green Shade and black. But hey, life has to be that complicated?
Enjoy your painting Guy, I miss it. It spent a week propped up alongside the TV.
Nice to chat,
Pip, pip,
SB
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