Oh I do like to be beside the seaside

Sometimes I just need to take time out and watch colours, feel space and empty my head. Being beside the sea I love the sense of freedom mixed with invigorating energy from the waves, the wide horizon temps me to wonder what journeys lie ahead, and great breaths of sea air are like nourishment for the soul.

As the sun goes behind the cloud the colours become more subtle and calming. These abstract snap shots are natures works of art for our inspiration.

Just over that hill is the beach and these little cottages are sheltered in the valley from the winds off the North Sea.

Sandsend village.

Last week my friend Sandie and I took off to the seaside for a breath of fresh air and to visit Tom in the Reading Room Gallery in Whitby. One of my favourite places on the North East Coast is Sandsend where I spent happy childhood holidays and days out. My brother Tim and I had a favourite game, when the tide came right in we would see if we could run between one set of steps to the next without getting soaked in between waves. Timing and speed were essential but we always seemed to turn up for tea soaked through head to toe and weak with laughter. I guess Sandsend is so special to me and reflected in many of my paintings because it is such a lovely mixture of country cottages and fabulous beach which is a great place to hunt for fossils.