All is Calm, North Berwick

This is currently on show at the Royal College of Art until Sunday. 

It's All is Calm, North Berwick, and it's a biggie - 32" x 48",  oil on linen.

It was painted in May, and was a lovely warm, bright and sunny, if changeable day.  The seaside town of North Berwick, just south of Edinburgh, is behind and to the left.  The scene looks out over the Firth of Forth towards Fife (the land just on the horizon).  The long low island is Craigleith.  If you swung round to the right you would see the famous Bass Rock.

I've painted the Bass Rock many times, but for this painting I chose the more unusual scene of these rocks on the beach and their reflection in the calm water.  I liked the contrast of the dramatic shapes of the dark rocks in the middle ground with the gentle shape of Craigleith in the background, echoing the calm of the sea.  I also wanted to bring out the blue of the sea and sky by notching up the orange tone of the sand.

I also liked the dark tide-line of the seaweed, which carries your eye round out of the painting on a continued sweep of the bay.  I turned the paintbrush round and drew into the paint to get the texture of the fronds.

Look out for the painting if you're at the 20/21 International Art Fair today or this weekend!