After the Rain by Dermod Ruddock

Original oil painting on canvas by Dermod Ruddock

Size: 820 x 620mm

The views over the bay from near Morfa Nefyn towards Porth Dinllaen are often spectacular. The sea often shimmers and stuns with its green and blue hues. And on an evening like this, as rain showers clear, then light and shade play a part in adding to the view. We watched a huge rain storm clear inland (walking back from the fabulous Cwrw Llyn, our local brewery) and headed for the cliff top path and were rewarded with brilliant light bursting through the clouds. Gorgeous!

The colours were interesting in this view...lots of cool evening blues and greens contrasting with the fire of the sunset. I was very keen to capture the warmth in the sky, and little hints of that warmth in the relections along the line of the beach. Working almost exclusively with oil pigment sticks, I can lay on broad strokes of colour and also make finer marks too...it's very visible in the clouds. I love to blend colours too, using fingers mainly, but also wooden stretcher wedges. But...I also don't want all the marks to disappear into a smooth finish. It's an interesting balance to attempt.