”At the Beach, Brighton” 30” x 40” SOLD
As seen in California’s Bakersfield Museum
The inspiration for this painting began with a heat wave in England in the Spring of 2008 and an article with a photo of Brighton Beach in the New York Times Newspaper. I have been to Brighton Beach many many times to visit my mother in law, Ivy Bright. Strange that her name is Bright, and that she chose to retire to Brighton with beautiful Brighton Beach in her back yard.
The photo depicted thousands of sun bathers on the beach. Wall to wall people, getting gloriously sunburned, meticulously laid on the rock beach to work on their tans. This was during a period of being a huge fan of Richard Diebenkorn, a California Expressionist painter, thus, the composition of the painting. I used many of my figure drawings, made from life, to fill the painting with sunbathers, especially the red chair with woman center front in pink top adjusting the strap around her neck.
This is one of my more complex compositions. I call it "massive confusion" composition. It is a happy painting, full of colorful bodies, very busy, but, with some calm areas to rest your eyes. |
Kathleen Elsey Beach Paintings