Aberdaron Beach by Dermod Ruddock

Original oil painting by Dermod Ruddock

Size: 740 x 580mm

This may not be the most obvious view of Aberdaron, but I was taken with the interesting 'splayed' out' perspective, the sinuous river reaching to the sea and the striking patterns on the beach. I wanted to depict the sweep of the beach 'out of season' so took photos in between Christmas and New Year one year on a bright, but not sunny day. It put less contrast into the lighting than I usually prefer, but made the view intriguing...

In terms of techniques, I found this really tricky. I've been trying to use very 'drawn' work this year, not resorting to a brush much, but using my oil pigment sticks as drawing tools... So I found the beach in particular was very patterned to start, and I found it too graphic. In the end I worked over the whole picture to soften it a bit, and found a bit of brushwork helped give the buildings solidity, without trying to be too 'real'. I hope that, if you know the view, then it is convincing enough...