We recently spent some time on the Ile D’Oleron on the Atlantic coast of France. It’s a big, flat island covered in cycle ways, mussel and oyster beds, and dotted with small towns and villages. It also has kilometre after kilometre of clean, uncrowded sandy beaches.
While enjoying the island, I experimented with a couple of ideas – first a pencil and water colour sketch of mackerel, then a canvas of acrylic paint representing the sea.
I had an idea that I might combine the two, even going as far as to experiment with painting mackerel stripes.
I shared my work as I went along, receiving useful feedback and support. I ended up adding a couple of ghost like shapes to the sea canvas, and felt this was enough.
The finished piece is available to buy from my Etsy shop.