Beach Huts on the Back Beach, Teignmouth

Here is my new watercolour of the beach huts on the Back Beach in Teignmouth, Devon. I was drawn to the busy pile of objects in front of the huts and the strong shapes of light and dark running across the scene. The diagonal shadow slicing over the blue hut felt like a single bold statement, a line that holds the whole composition together. With all the boxes and crates at different angles, it felt almost like a still life, just outdoors by the sea.

I kept the values simple. Big darks under the huts and tucked behind the clutter, then open light on the sand and the water. Those angled crates make a zig zag that leads the eye down to the figures and boats. I lost and found edges to suggest detail without drawing every item, and used a few flicks and spatter for the beach texture.

Colour choices were kept fresh and coastal. The sky and water sit in soft cerulean and cobalt, with ultramarine and a touch of neutral tint for the deep shadows. Warm sand came from burnt sienna with small notes of light red, and I dropped in a little viridian in the nets and debris to break up the warms. Tiny hits of cadmium red on buoys and figures add life, and a few dots of white paint catch bright highlights on boat rims.

This painting is for sale, so please contact me for more information. If this scene speaks to you, have a look around my website for more coastal subjects and harbour life. Visit www.timwilmotartist.com and come and join my painting club on Patreon at patreon/timwilmot. Check it out for a free trial.