Description
This is a large, fun image, of Surf Beach on Phillip Island. Its name conjures up surfing dudes, but there’s rarely any of those there when I visit – usually during the week and outside of holiday time. At any time though, it is a beautiful natural beach, with endlessly interesting rock formations cradling tiny rock pools, and the imposing cliffs host all sorts of flora. On this day, the angle of the sun highlighted a trailing succulent whose leaves are a progressive rainbow of yellows through oranges to dark reds. The rocks on the beach are very dark, almost black, but on previous tries I’ve found this colour takes over the whole image, so I’ve left them blank, except for their interesting shapes. The cliffs are mainly a mixture of red earths, so I’ve highlighted some of that – but this piece is one where I’ve been very careful about not overdoing it, and ruining the effect – there are plenty of other versions of exactly that, that I learnt from! This piece is drawn, and painted in watercolours, on prepared wood, reinforced on the back and ready to hang. The surface has been protected with a quality matt varnish. It is 61 x 45.5cm, and 2.5cm deep. The sides are painted white.
Colours Surf Beach, Watercolour on Wood, side view
