Corporation Blue Oil on canvas
 
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While I was at art school and for a few years thereafter, I took as my subject matter figures at the seaside. I grew up in Eastbourne on the south coast of England and my favourite place was the beach. It is a town that attracts many retirees, and the promenades are full of the not so young on seats, in deckchairs, strolling along, making the most of the sun.
This painting takes a very different tack from other figurative works, being concerned with the all over pattern made by figures, shadows, structures etc . The title refers to the colour of paint used by the local authority on the railings at that time. My influence here was Stanley Spencer’s work ‘Southwold’, a wonderful sunlit painting where the focal point is a towel blowing in the wind, the figures and deckchairs forming a pattern behind. I can hear the crunch of the shingle as I look at it. (See also Sculpture page) |
