Low tide and waste

We'd parked up at Hale village park car park and walked down through the woods towards the river path. It was not long after one of the storms in early 2020, before lockdown. You hear about how much plastic makes it into our rivers and seas. Here was proof before our eyes. What made it stand out even more was the contrast with the surrounding natural landscape. The high tides had flung (vomited..?) and left on the path and farmland, some over 100m from the waterline.

It was a depressing sight and also a really good picture to paint. It struck me that here was a way painting and my painting, in particular, could show what was happening in the world, my bit of it at least. It is one of my earliest landscapes. My tutor had advised me to use a knife to indicate grasses from the bass up. I thought 'not bad'. And I also am pleased with painting the reflections of the clouds in the river.