“Beach Light”

A classic beach painting

A couple stroll along an expansive sandy shoreline, with light dancing on a calm sea and the distant horizon.

Fluffy clouds float languidly in the blue-blue sky above them. How many of us have enjoyed precious days like this?

Of course this is the UK, so t-shirts are not yet sensible. Regardless of temperatures, we all love these special idyllic, often unexpectedly bright days. Times when we can stroll along a beach breathing in fresh sea air while the ocean sparkles, and light dances ahead of us.

While this might look like it's a made‑up place, it's a real beach. The painting is inspired by walking with others, the antics of their dogs – it's a scene that makes great landscape art.

The combination of the bright early Spring day – the kind of light that makes you squint, even though it's not yet June – was the spur that had me reaching for a canvas.

There are many of these wide sweeping bays on the UK coastline. I've walked on this one many times, and I'm always inspired.

Studio painting

There's no one outdoor sketch that exactly matches this studio painting. That's how it works. I use my outdoor paintings and sketches as reference, rather than as something to necessarily copy exactly.

In the studio it's as much about how it feels to be somewhere, as it is about how it looks. When outdoor painting, I find I've only just enough time to concentrate on how a place looks.

My outdoor art acts as an intense reminder, rather than necessarily a record, of how it felt.

Some of you may recognise this beach, though it could be any number of beaches on the UK coastline. (My reference for it was Bridlington South Beach). The couple are from imagination – one of the dogs is a friend.