Dipping down to Rhossili, Wales

Seascapes 52: week 15

This week's Seascapes 52 shares another creation from my Best of Britain seascapes. This time, the beautiful Rhossili beach near the Gower Peninsula in South Wales. Worth a visit, if you've not been before.

I've always liked Wales and have been lucky to find myself there a few times during my years in Britain. I've climbed Snowdon (well within my comfort zone), done some scary scrambling up to the Adam and Eve rocks (totally out of my comfort zone), visited the picturesque Portmeirion for a lovely wedding, watched an international test match at Millennium Stadium and enjoyed loads of castles, waterfalls and beaches in the north and south.

One of the most scenic beaches you can visit in Wales is Rhossili Bay, nestled alongside the Gower Peninsula. My visit to the Gower Peninsula was well-timed for some lovely cliffside sunshine. It wasn't the brightest of days, as you might be able to tell from the painting. But the cliffs themselves were basked in sunshine and the gorse was aglow. Perfect to enjoy an unexpectedly dry walk, although hadn't timed it right with the tides to hike out to the tip. Next time.

My favourite part of this seascape is the movement of the waves. Being atop the clfifs provided an unusual vantage point. So, the movement of the water is in a different direction to how I typically paint my seascapes. A great opportunity to enjoy the way the kind of brush you use and the direction you apply it, creates the wash and moment of the sea.

This seascape is also unusual because it is an acrylic painting. I typically paint seascapes in oil and have found that acrylic doesn't give me the opportunity to blend colours as evocatively as oil. This Welsh seascape is an exception. Another exception is my square seascape aerial trio in which I was deliberately exploring the transparency of the acrylic paint to evoke the swirling waters.

Despite enjoying all my trips to Wales, and some plein air sketching in the Brecon Beacons, I've not painted too many Welsh scenes. I've done a couple of oil studies of the scenic ruins of Newcastle Emlyn, a sheep and gorse landscape and this one. Might be time to plan another trip.

If you fancy this painting to remind you of your favourite Welsh mini-breaks (most people's Welsh holiday anecdotes seem to involve chasing tents that have blown away), you can find it in my Land & Sea collection.

Thanks for reading. Surf's up again next Wednesday when we'll catch a brand new wave creation in Seascapes 52.