Beach Combers III (Ellie & Tip at Camber Sands)

On my 50th birthday, the family headed out from London to Rye and the beach at Camber Sands. My daughter Ellie and her lurcher Tip spent hours unearthing treasures. It was a bitterly cold but bright day in January and before the sky darkened in late afternoon it started to glow with cold orange and yellow light, reflecting bright pools of water left in the sand as the tide receded. Hence the sand became a myriad of textures and patterns marking the passage of all that had walked on it that day. The result was a heady confusion, making the distinction between land and sea uncertain, although the far horizon was clarity itself, along with the knowledge that when darkness came the incoming water would render everything smooth again…

This painting was hung in The Grange Festival Exhibition and was also selected for the Mall Galleries Website