New Year's Eve Sunset

                                                       Acrylic on board 7" x 5"

Today I began painting a still-life of a silver fork on some flowery fabric.  I had decided to do something to submit to the Daily Paintworks fabric challenge.  I had a moment of clarity just as I put brush to board that it wasn't going to end well. The pattern and colour of the fabric were way too ambitious for me, particularly after having tired myself out in the garden beforehand.  I wrestled with the painting for a while and it became more disastrous by the moment. After half an hour or so I admitted defeat as I could see it would go nowhere no matter how much time I spent on it. Today was the first time I've painted over something I'd made a start on. I'd already squandered some of my painting time so I needed something else to paint that wouldn't take too long.

On New Year's Eve my husband and I had trotted down to the beach just in time to see the sun set on the old year.   I hadn't taken my camera but the moment we got there I wished that I had.  The clouds were fairly nondescript so it wasn't the showiest of sunsets, but the simplicity of the colours were rather breathtaking.  After I had stopped bleating about wishing I'd brought my camera, I made the effort to become present and really take in everything around me. The colours in both the sky and water were amazing. I don't know if there was something more startling than usual about the colours being reflected on the water, or if I just found them so because I was paying closer attention than usual.

It was like watching a moving sea of jewels glittering as they rose and fell with the swell of the waves.  I tried to commit the colours to memory as I toyed with the idea of trying to paint the scene later.  I didn't really think I would end up getting around to it, but today I was desperate to just paint something quickly.  This is the first time I've painted from memory - and it shows!  But it was fun giving it a go.

Happy New Year!