I want to tell you a story, a story of how this painting came about, and of a whole host of others.
It starts two generations ago, back to when I was a child and our family holidays were spent on the Devon coast, always during the Whitsun bank holiday and always when the sun was shining.
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"Stroll Along the Beach" Oil paint on canvas panel. 40 x 40 cm Available from my website |
We'd do what was usual for us, build sand castles, drink banana milk shakes in little cafes and visit the occasional stately home or ruin. We'd paddle a lot in the sea, we weren't a swimming family, and we'd tease sea anemones in rock pools.
But what I really wanted was a dog to keep us company while we did all these things. I suspect I wanted an extra companion that would think I was amazing, because I was, except no one else noticed it!
So when my son and his family gave this border collie Grace a home I was overjoyed. She is a lively and an extra member to their family.
Sadly she is indifferent to me.
She features in a lot of my paintings recently, and this is the latest.
See more of Grace on my website.