Catch a Wave Painting

I first started painting whilst at school and was lucky to have the chance to move with my parents to Singapore in the mid sixties. It was a great place to live and I found there was a subject crying out to be sketched or painted on every street corner. It was the time when my passion for art really started. When I left school I studied art at Guildford College of art and spent much of my career in the design and marketing industry. I have been painting full time for the last 20 years. Much of my current work is inspired by the natural beauty of the area where I now live; the rugged coastline, the peaceful Devon villages and the splendour of autumn on Dartmoor. When I find a location that lends itself to my style of working I record the overall look and feel of the chosen location, decide what should be removed or added to make the composition work for me, prepare a plein air sketch and make notes on the weather, colour changes and where the sunlight falls and highlight the key elements of the landscape. I tend to return to the location over time and record how the weather affects the location. Nothing in the natural landscape remains the same. A small change in light can completely change the colour palette and even a small variation in wind force and direction will influence the shape of waves and surf. Armed with all this detail I will then start to work on a full size canvas but from the comfort of my studio that overlooks Start Bay in South Devon. www.chriselsden.com