Before the Break

Description

I painted this on a grey November afternoon, still carrying the feeling of that morning on the coast. The weather had turned ugly overnight and by the time I reached the clifftop the sky was doing something I had never quite seen before. Not just dark, but alive. Churning masses of deep navy and midnight blue rolling over themselves, split open in places by these sudden, almost violent bursts of light. I stood there longer than I should have, soaked through, and I knew I had to try and hold onto it.

Before the Break came out of that memory. I worked into the canvas with layered acrylic, building up the density of those brooding central clouds before pulling in the lighter passages. The diagonal sweep of warm golden light across the top came almost instinctively. It felt true to what I had seen, that strange contradiction of something beautiful existing right inside something threatening. The white highlights on the left and lower centre were the last thing I added. They carry the tension for me. That moment just before the storm either breaks or passes.

This painting is part of my Storm Series, which includes Maelstrom and Tempest. The three works sit together naturally but each one holds its own atmosphere. Before the Break is the one I find hardest to look away from. There is something in it that still unsettles me in the best possible way, and I hope it does the same for you.

Painted in acrylic on canvas, 80 x 60 cm, and presented in a black floating frame so it is ready to hang straight away. Each painting comes with a certificate of authenticity. Shipping is standard tracked delivery.