Special Moments.

                      Indigo Beach   Oils on canvas board  7 x 5 inches   


Sunset and sensationalism...imagination and realism.  A little of each in this little oil study.  

Low tide and standing pools of water pick up the colourful reflections.  Mud, rocks and sand add a tonal contrast.  I expect by now viewers and readers will have gathered that I am a sunrise/sunset obsessive. 

Something about the oils and their lovely luscious feel invites me to sculpt the paint with my brush.  I find brushes are gentler on the support than a knife and I can create a twisting brush stroke to simulate water movement.  

 For a small support like this 7 x 5 inch I will normally use two brushes...a 2cm or larger for blocking in and sculpting the shapes.  Then a 1cm brush is mostly used for cutting in, highlights and 'swift flourishes'.  I like to use long and short flat synthetic brushes as they are soft and not harsh on the paint.  Scrubbing in with the oils on the canvas board wears out my brushes quite quickly but the 'fuzzy' worn brush comes in handy for dry brushing to create grasses, tree tops and other rough areas.   I never throw them away...they are part of my studio.

Oils are my choice for painting.  I have used acrylic and their advantage is quick drying but there is something about the feel and colour of oil that suits my personal way of working.  If I want the oils to dry faster I use an alkyd medium which can also double as a glaze.  

(My apology...this photograph has some glare as the paint is still wet)


Art on the Map Group Exhibition, Stamford Arts Centre, Lincolnshire 


I have five oil paintings in this exhibition.  Here is a photograph of the gallery during the hanging process...

These are part of my abstract collection 'Beyond Reality'.