Oil painting of boats at Brancaster Staithe on the North Norfolk coast

Detail from "Tides going out", Brancaster Staithe, Norfolk.
Oil. Alistair Butt © 2013 - #AB 021363

The water level was dropping fast as the tide went out, which in this case was a great help as it exposed more and more of the mud which being wet was reflecting the sunlight. I also liked the contrast between the simple foreground and the more detailed middle distance along with the contrast in light.

A mentioned before, all the water/mud area was done wet into wet over a loose base layer, while the background was built up with a number of layers or painted straight on. While it takes more time to paint, I find it a joy trying to capture the detail in a subject like this.