65.5 cm (w) x 50.5 cm (h), oil paints on stretched paper.
Date produced: While living at Christies Beach (1986 - 1987)

Painted entirely on-site, at Witton Bluff, Christies Beach, S.A. I spent many afternoons working on this painting, out on-site. I found this particular section of cliffs to be very striking and interesting. The glow of the cliffs made the sky look very rich and quite deep in colour. I remember struggling to decide on the right colours to use for the expression of the stunning glow of the cliffs in the sunlight in front of me. This is because paint can’t match the intensity of light and colour being reflected off the cliffs in full sunlight. There was a conflict between matching the observed colours in the scene, with having the painting express the intensity of light and colour coming off the sunlit cliffs. To express the rich intensity of the light and colour coming from the sunlit cliffs, I found that I needed to use bright yellows in my paint mixtures and constantly check the way they felt.

I took a photograph of the cliffs in 1986 (shown below) from a similar spot to where I was sitting to do this painting, but at a slightly earlier time in the afternoon. I know that I was surprised by the result - that film seemed to “see” or be sensitive to the relationships of the tones in the cliff quite differently to the receptors in my eyes (I shouldn’t have been surprised really).