We recently had a spell of hot weather, and knowing it to be the swansong of summer, I made the most of it and headed out for the coast with my paints. The temperatures that week were in the high 20's, and on the Thursday it was forecast to be even better. So I arranged to go to Brancaster with friends, where, armed with painting gear and cameras we planned to get some publicity shots, set against a glorious blue Norfolk sky, for my website. Unfortunately, we reached Brancaster to find a chilly sea fret awaiting us. Undeterred, I grabbed my pochade box and painting stool, and we hiked along the beach to the creek which meanders its way into the 'seal pool'. The colony of common and grey seals has steadily built up in recent times and now numbers in the teens. ~ The seals were enjoying themselves, diving and bobbing up again (seal watchers call it 'bottling') and engaging in a spot of fog-bathing on the opposite bank. I couldn't resist sketching them. ~ Then I set up my pochade box and paints. My friends were expecting to take a few photos while I posed briefly, brush in hand, and then pack up and head back to the comfort of the car. They didn't expect me to actually paint. After all, it was cold and there was hardly anything to see. What they didn't bargain for was that painters have a habit of seeing subjects in the most unpromising situations. Even fog. ~ Here I am, dressed for a heat wave complete with sun hat and painting into the mist. It's surprising how many colours you can find in grey, and how you can lose track of inclement conditions when you're deep into a painting. ~ Time and tide also have a habit of stealing a march on you while you are otherwise engaged. I forget which of us was the first to notice that the tide had turned and the water was coming in fast... With the tide racing in, we hastily packed up and headed back along the beach. My friends were hurrying me along, with the anxious observation that the sea looked to be on a higher plane than us and we could all be engulfed by the menacing wall of grey water that was set to flood the beach road car park. Despite their protestations, and the fact that my hands were turning blue with cold, I kept stopping to snatch photos, plus a quick sketch of a rolling wave for my studio notes. I may have remarked that this tide was nothing exceptional, and that Turner had himself lashed to a mast in order to experience the energy expelled by a storm at sea. Fortunately there were no masts available for them to lash me to, otherwise they may well have done so and left me to it.
Before we reached the beach road the water was already swilling up against the sea defences, so it was a question of timing a long-jump between waves or just throwing caution to the wind and splashing through the surf. It made no difference either way, as we were already clammy from top to toe, thanks to the salt spray and sea fret. Our fingers numb and our feet wet, we consoled ourselves with the promise of hot chocolate from the beach cafe, but unfortunately the staff had long given up expecting anyone to be so stupid as to be out on the beach in a fog with the tide racing in and they'd pulled down the shutters and gone home. We went instead to the Jolly Sailors at Brancaster Staithe, where we thawed out over a delicious plate of mackerel goujons. And we gave thanks that we had survived the afternoon, even if the mackerel hadn't! 'Tide Racing In, Brancaster', was painted in watercolour on quarter imperial 90lb Barcham Green rag paper. To see more watercolours please visit the Watercolour page under Landscape and Marine.
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Judith Key
Judith Key is a Norfolk based artist, working in watercolour and pastel. She has exhibited with the Society of Graphic Fine Artists and New English Art Club at the Mall Galleries, London. Her paintings are in collections worldwide. Categories
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May 2018
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