The weather forecast for Sunday (19 July) was unpromising but we were bidden to various parts of the coast regardless. I chose Cromer, arriving in inclement conditions, donning wet weather clothing and set off around the town to find an inspiring and sheltered location. However, the local fishermen foretold of fine weather and they were quite right and I soon found that the biggest obstacle to overcome wasn’t the weather, but being overwhelmed by the possibilities of what to paint. I’d arrived early enough to walk the course, but no sooner had I seen a spectacular view than I saw another. In the end I chose to reduce the main subject down to the scale of a pebble and, having burrowed down in a defensible space on the shingled beach, I began making sketches with the pier as a backdrop to the beach itself.

The beautiful grey-blue knobbly cobble’s interspersed with nuggets of bright orange flint seem to exemplify the fabric of the Norfolk coastline. They became the focus of this painting – a Myriad of croquette balls scrunching and heaving with each motion. The girded trellis silhouette of the pier hung suspended in the blue of a now warm and sunlit Sunday afternoon.