Dance of the Sanderling

I just can't stay away from these colours! This beauty is from my ‘Wild Atlantic’ series and has been a real labour of love. She's a big one at 75x75cm, in oil and cold wax on deep edge cradled canvas.

What does Winter mean to you?

Winter in Cornwall is both more dramatic and more serene than any other season. This is the time of year when Cornwall shows her soul to those who care to see. Me and the hounds wander down to the empty beaches around St Ives and Carbis Bay when the air is full of sea spray and the Atlantic swells slam into the granite cliffs. I never tire of watching the waves with nothing but the sound of the sea and wind in my ears.

I am fascinated by these little birds. They visit Cornwall’s beaches in the winter from their breeding grounds in the Arctic. The Sanderling is a medium-sized sandpiper. It feeds in small flocks at the edge of the tide, scampering back and forth after the waves, looking for insects, crustaceans, worms, fish and even jellyfish. Sanderlings only have three toes on each foot - who knew? They are missing the hind toe, which gives them a distinctive running action.

Anyone else think these little cuties are like wind-up clockwork toys as they scamper up and down at the edge of the surf?