Saunton Croyde Puttsborough Woolacombe

Large Surf Paintings For Sale.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 .

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.

Take a look at the large oil paintings for sale on the website of  Saunton Croyde Puttsborough and Woolacombe beaches    or    large paintings for sale including Saunton Sands, Croyde, Woolacombe and Putsborough.       and     very large paintings for sale