Shoreline I

The Shoreline and Wilderness Road pieces are inspired by the long stretch of sand at Port Logan where the pebbles shift with each new tide and the upper shoreline is full of natural and man-made finds.  Shells, driftwood, pebbles and crunchy dried seaweed compete for space with old netting and brightly coloured frayed rope, bricks worn smooth, nuggets of tumbled glass and (sadly) lots of sea-washed discarded plastic. I see paths and lines everywhere – rivulets of water coming down the beach, cracks in rocks, stripes on shells, strands of seaweed, the ridges in the sand from the receding waves. These observations form the foundation for the work I create back in the studio, where I use the inspiration of sketches and foraged shoreline treasures to develop my ideas and abstract the essential elements to create something new. The  natural tones in the Shoreline paintings have developed into stronger, more vivid colours in the two Wilderness Road paintings, but both capturing the lines, cracks and rivulets that captured my interest at the time.