On summer days, the waters around East Head can look almost tropical. This view captures the back of East Head looking towards the South Downs, where the protected dunes meet Chichester Harbour. It's one of my favourite spots to settle into and watch the boats drift past.

I wanted this painting to hold that particular quality of calm you feel when you're tucked in here, watching sailboats move across the water. There's something about the combination of warm sand grasses in the foreground and the cool expanse of sea and sky that creates an instant sense of stillness—that moment when you stop and just breathe.

The panoramic format suits this stretch of coastline, allowing the eye to travel from the textured foreground through the shallow turquoise waters to the distant hills. Working in oil and mixed media gives me the range I need to capture both the delicate shifts in the water and the dramatic cloud formations that are so characteristic of this coast.