It Takes your Breath Away by Dermod Ruddock

Original oil painting on canvas by Dermod Ruddock

Size: 930 x 430mm

If you park up above Llithfaen on the Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, you can walk along a track that leads to a col on the side of the conical, volcanic Yr Eifl. From there it's a short stroll (in the direction of the precipitous cliffs which drop straight to the Irish Sea) to this vantage point. And the natural splendour really does take your breath away. The view is truly awe inspiring...and changes by the minute as the clouds scud across the sky.

I aimed to create a marked difference between the foreground heather and rough grasses, and everything in the distance. The foreground marks are mainly made with my oil sticks with little refinement to the marks, while further away I've spent much more time smoothing the application of paint, blending colours together on the canvas surface using my fingers.