South Coast 2009

The South Coast painting with the addition of the stark white sails of a spinnaker imply a more human intervention in the scene. The viewpoint of the work follows a small stream as it enters the English Channel. The South Coast painting contains an element of caution, despite its apparent calmness; danger seems to lurk on the violent current and jagged rocks.

My intention all along was to make the South Coast painting bright and busy in comparison with the other paintings that have a pervading sense of calm. In the limited edition print I wanted the yellow to be loud to almost shout at the viewer and force us in to contemplating this scene. Again, there is a portrayal of the dynamic erosion of the sea; a physical process that has sculpted these peculiar looking cliffs; a sense of what has come before and what will happen in the future.

There is no doubt that through all these watercolour paintings we must acknowledge the weather, atmospherics, how can we have a landscape that does not acknowledge this vital ingredient. The spinnaker sail and the lighthouse bring to the fore the nautical nature of the English Channel. History can recall the day where the great fleets of the British Navy sailed for more serious reasons along this coast; it now gives way to a place of leisure.’

The South Coast painting is devilishly non-specific. It is a painting of one of the most spectacular coastal landscapes in the British Isles. Popular destinations along the south coast include the 1000 year old Corfe castle; the picturesque Lulworth Cove; and more contemporary phenomena such as Sandbanks development, near Poole harbour. On a more literary note, it perhaps evokes the wonderful literary landscapes portrayed in Thomas Hardy’s distinguished work. Nowadays one can visit his birthplace situated near the town of Dorchester. One of Devon’s more famous sons is the society portrait painter, Joshua Reynolds. Reynolds co-founded and then presided over the Royal Academy of Art, was born in Plymton near Plymouth.