A Trip to Morecambe

Last year I was back in Morecambe on several occasions to take photos.  

It has a wonderful seafront, which has been done up in recent years, with lots of playful statues of seabirds (including some by Glasgow sculptor Shona Kinloch) and really nice details of seashells in the paving. 

It's always great to be by the sea.  When the tide is in, you get all the drama of the white-topped waves crashing against the shore, and when the tide is out, you get all the wonderful subtle colours of the wide expanse of sand, with all the purples, lilacs and burnt siennas.  There are lots of beautifully-shaped boats that lie on the mud and provide points of colour.

The sky is very big, and there are the hills of the Lake District in the far distance.  There's also the newly-repoened Midland Hotel, which is an art deco treat, like a classic ocean-going liner.  It has work by Eric Gill, Eric Ravilious, and the most amazing rug in the foyer by Marion Dorn.

Several of my paintings from Morecambe are currently in my London show.  This is Boats at Low Tide, Morecambe, which has a lot of textural impasto paint at the bottom right hand side to give the sense of the rocks.

Boats at Low Tide, Morecambe (Oil on linen, 24 x 26)

Because the bay has such a lovely wide sweep, I used my largest size of canvas for this.

 

Sweep of the Bay, Morecambe (Oil on linen, 32 x 48)

And finally a much smaller painting.

Lone Boat, Morecambe (Oil on linen, 12 x 12)