Surf’s up and the suns out so I though I would post some of the wave surf and wave paintings from the last year for you to relish in this amazing weather and wave conditions.
Tropical beach wave painting
Not a lot of work gets done here when these fantastic conditions arrive for us to enjoy Surf Sand and Sea, what life was made for.
You can see the full post of Facebook – A set of paintings based on the ocean waves and surfing mainly in North Devon and in the Caribbean. Hope you enjoy them.
I moved to Croyde a few years ago having lived on and off in north Devon for many years in between travels and living in India and the Alps. I had the studio based at Braunton where I sold my paintings for many years when I wasn’t in India.
Croyde really grew on me. Its like a hidden gem in this busy and over done world, hidden in its own little bay with a lovely grassy park centre to the village and dunes backing the
Sunset with the family and the dog at Croyde
beach. The beach has a lovely curve with Down End at one side and Baggy point at the other. If you know where to go these headlands have some fantastic swimming holes where you can swim and dive when the surf is flat. And if you can get down deep enough you can fill your pockets with huge crabs and lobsters.
Croyde ocean wave painting for sale
In the middle of the beach are some amazing sand banks which throw up the surf to a wonderful shape which helps on small waves days to give a fun punchy wave which is great to ride. The expansive scene has been the source of many paintings around the bay. I have painted the bay from many angles and even painted the Thatch pub in Croyde village. But my favourite paintings here have been a close up focus of the waves as they have such a lovely powerful shape which merits capturing in oil on canvas. With a good zoom lens I have taken some great images on some mega wave days where only the brave may tread. Get this
Sunset painting for sale from Down End Croyde Bay
wave wrong on a big day and it can really do some damage, and that’s if the crashing surf doesn’t beat you back to the shore before you have even reached the clean break out back. This wave really frightens me as the lip of the wave curls over past the base and you look over the abyss with 10 to 15 foot drop straight down with a whole wall of water to follow and smash you down into a super size tumble dryer of bubbles and froth.
Sunset Oil Painting Saunton North Devon Coast
I painted a really moving series of paintings based on this wave shape of Croyde. From the original series I have three large paintings left all about 80cm x 80cm(or 100cm) in various shades of blues and turquoises with a splash of other colours to lift the light in the painting. Other paintings have been based on the surfers and surfing people playing and surfing in the waves and surf. Other sets of paintings have focussed on the lovely shape of the bay and the shape of the headland working with the sky and clouds as they sweep into the land from the sea. It’s a scene of light sea, sand, big skies and excitement.
My current commission is a large oil painting 1.2m wide of the view from Down End across the bay to Baggy point with the surf, beach and dunes forming centre stage.
What’s in a name? These four beaches and their names conjure up so much magic. West facing flat beaches which lap up the waves into turquoise walls of pure heaven to ride and ride again. Soft Dunes and endless skies with their expansive views make these beaches a treasure.
These four beaches have been a source of inspiration for me ever since I moved to North Devon. My art studio is close to Saunton Sands beach and I live at Croyde so every day I get a taste of two of these stunning beaches.
I cycle around Down End, a unique headland every day, seeing the sun rise and set every day, as I round the headland from Croyde to Saunton and back again. In the evening, riding from Saunton Sands Hotel out to Down End point is a unique experience, with the coastline running all along the route, the waves and epic views running down the beach and the road appearing to melt into the setting sun in the distance.
Reflections at Saunton Sands Beach Large Oil Painting For Sale
On my way back to the studio in the morning, the view across Croyde beach is enlightening in the morning, getting the first glimpse of how the waves are shaping up. Then I climb up Down End above Saunton beach to see the tiny dots walking back and forth to the waves across the beach, and if I am early enough the sun and mist rising above the Braunton Burrows Dunes.
Even though I see this view every day I have to pull over in one of the lay bys just to admire the view once again. Even though you can see this stunning view as you drive ¼ mile along this stunning vista the lay-bys just invite a second look, even in the rain. Pick just the right spot and look out down the line along the curling waves and watch a few rollers with a few lucky surfers dancing. Then I cycle on past Saunton Sands Hotel and its all downhill to the studio just on the edge of Braunton.
Even after all those amazing views there is something about the studio that lifts my spirits. The studio is set in 7 acres of hay meadows just back from the sand dunes running down to Saunton beach. I bring back trees from around the world to plant out in the fields and there are a couple of new orchards I have planted. In my mind it is a modern version of a mini Victorian estate. It’s a kind of art project in its own right. When I bought the land it was 7 acres of flat fields to which I added the studio and began an extensive planting project which I add to very year. Open the window and if the surfs up you can hear the sound of the waves crashing and the sound bouncing off the dunes. So as I enter the gates to the studio I feel like I have walked into my own 3d canvas, a long term huge painting and sculpture which I have been working on over the last 6 years.
Woolacombe Beach huts Large Painting For Sale
Each of the beaches I treasure in this area have become projects in their own right and each year brings a focus onto a different beach. This year with the intense heat and still crystal clear turquoise waters I have found a real fondness for Down end and Barricane beaches which I have begun to photograph and no doubt will be painting later in the year.
Croyde Bay Oil Painting For Sale
Saunton Sands was the first beach I started to work on with its sharp reflections and expansive views. It is huge. When the tide goes out it leaves this thin film of water on the beach which gives a perfect mirror reflecting all those who stand above it. It is so sharp and clear that you appear to be floating on your own reflection. Take a photo on a good day and you can flip it upside down, so sharp you cannot tell which is you and which is your reflection. Interesting stuff to paint, not just visually, but from a philosophical and spiritual point of view. Working with reflections has its own deep and meaningful ways. This beach is vast and the waves can peel off beautifully down the line, a long borders heaven. Look straight down the waves as the waves and surfers line up right across to Appledore and Westward Ho! Then there are the beach huts, the headland, the Dunes and the sky, the list goes on.
Surf Painting at Saunton Beach for sale
Two years ago I was mad into Croyde beach. Totally different to Saunton. Slightly lighter sand a curvy bay and fast powerful waves. On a big break I still head to Saunton or Woolacombe, but if its smaller then Croyde can just pop some little miracles out. Waves and the shape of the bay are my big focus here. The waves here are a really neat shape, real curvy and punchy and were a basis for my big blue and turquoise wave paintings. I love Croyde because it is a perfect little bay and small village with some great view points and swimming holes. All this fun and atmosphere really helps me to paint all that fun and excitement into the paintings.
Last year and even more this year I have been painting Woolacombe. It’s got a lot of similar characteristics to Saunton with its vast length and sharp reflections. There are some fun beach huts at the top end which I have really loved painting. I did a really lovely large oil painting for sale of the huts 1.5m long which looks really amazing, sweeping views and it really sucks you into the painting.
Puttsborough to Woolacombe beach painting for sale
Woolacome beach is really growing on me at the moment. I love walking over to Putsborugh beach to have breakfast in the café, and cycling on up to Woolacombe from behind the dunes. If you surf then you get great waves here shaped somewhere inbetween Saunton and Croyde, with a bit more power but not enough to bury your head in the sand bar like at Croyde. Up and down the beach you can pick up a nice variety of waves to suite the conditions so for surfing this really gets the five star rating, especially when you add in Barricane beach and Combesgate beach .
Sunset Oil Painting for Sale from Woolacombe Beach or was it Saunton?Sunset Painting For Sale of Down End inbetween Saunton and Croyde Beaches
These four beaches are a real source of inspiration for my paintings. I have painted scenes from all of them from various angles and view points. What’s really important about this whole scene for me is the culmination of all of this influence, the surf cultures, the holiday feel, the freedom of the ocean and those expansive beaches, skies and views. Each beach is etched in my mind, the views, the colours, the sounds and smells, the atmosphere, reflections, waves. Then there are the sunsets, the soft dunes, the swaying grasses, the pounding noise of the surf and the salt spray. All of this is what I hold uppermost in my mind and this is what I hope is conveyed onto the canvas. There is really too much to put into words, the beach huts, and the stunning sunsets of yellow, pink and red. This corner of the world really is a painter’s paradise with so much colour and vibrant atmosphere to choose from.
