“Saltwick Nab”

If you're familiar with the seaside town of Whitby in the UK, you'll know exactly where this is.

If you stand on either of Whitby's harbour walls and look down the coast, you'll be able to make out these distinctive rocks in the distance.

The rocks sitting on the horizon are called 'Saltwick Nab', and I believe it's not a naturally occurring formation. It's man-made.

It was created when Alum mining was active on the Yorkshire coast. I'm not sure why these shapes were left – I can only assume there was no alum present?

Whenever I've visited, the ocean between Saltwick Nab and the harbour has more often than not been lively. Big waves splashing on to the harbour wall are not unusual.

Of course the seagulls take it all in their stride, resting on the port wall facing into the wind, while no one's around.

This sea painting does not take itself too seriously. The water is painted with fun and energy in mind. It's inspired by the delight of witnessing the big swells rolling in on this part of the coast, on a bracing day‑out at the seaside.

This painting started as a very small thumbnail painted in Gouache in an idle moment. The thumbnail was no more than three inches square, if I remember correctly.

When I came up with the idea, I'd been wondering how I'd paint the sea in a similar way to my seascape linocuts. I think this worked well in the end.

While I'd managed to figure out most of the painting in the tiny thumbnail, painting the finished version proved an adventure. But then…

All my studio art is an adventure – a launch into the unknown – and that's why I do it.