51 cm (w) x 27 cm (h), pastels on brown paper.

Two huge flares of pink light extended up from behind a purple wall of cloud, sitting low over the horizon. I needed to work very quickly. I knew that such spectacles wouldn't last long, and indeed, this scene only lasted for about 4 minutes at most. I took about 20 minutes to get most of this result. Even though the spectacle didn't last for that time, it did help me that I was actually at the scene, and I could see some of the elements of the scene close to how they were during the spectacle. I could also use my memory, and compare my results with the scene elements that were still out in front of me.

It certainly helped that I used pastels to produce my image. Pastels are premixed, so it is fairly quick to apply areas of different colours. The important thing is to select pastel colours that are close to the colours actually observed in the scene. Most of colours observed required me to apply multiple layers of different pastel colours that would combine (using cross-hatching or even smudging together using my fingers) to get closer results.

This pastel was produced on-site, from the stone wall along the Esplanade at the end of Rockingham Street, West Beach. I remember that I used to regularly go to the stone wall along the Esplanade to do drawings and colour studies at sunset. I had the freedom to do this most days, which was a real privilege. I found that sunset is a fabulous time of the day, with spectacular colours that change quickly. It was also a time of the day with a feeling of serenity, and a feeling of being more involved in the landscape all around.

I also remember that the seagulls would consistently fly quietly north along the beach at sunset, probably to return to their safe haven for the night coming up. I found it intriguing that I would see the same behaviour during just about every sunset, no matter what the prevailing wind direction had been or was currently; the movement was always north.