In this second view of Porthleven, looking down Institute Hill, I was initially entranced by the soft blue and mauve shadows on the tall Institute building and the silvery granite stone walls of the lane running directly towards the pier in this ‘contre-jour’ composition.
The brilliant lemon-yellow light bouncing off the white-washed walls facing the sun creates a two-toned chequerboard of light and dark. The distant horizon is obliterated on one side of the painting by the sun’s scintillations. Meanwhile in the foreground I liked the way the telegraph poles were reminiscent of masts with lengths of rigging connecting up to the houses on either side.