Down End, Baggy Point and Croyde Bay

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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