This offers a counterpoint to the short winter days. Painted on a blisteringly hot summer afternoon on the banks of the Mersey, the wind and rain of a protracted winter long forgotten, sandflies buzz around the detritus on the beach and the paints harden on the palette quicker than one can mix them. This is the Oglet shore, where I have seen Reed Buntings and Dunlin skulk on winter days and Oystercatcher pipe in high summer.

The lighthouse sits left and in the foreground spears of red grass struggle out of the parched grass. In the distance are the familiar nested chimneys of Stanlow refinery. Having forgotten to include white in the palette it was amusing to mix afresh and reveal a fitting apocalyptic glow to the landscape.

Acrylic on canvas, 30x20cm
BUY