West Sands St Andrews

Yhis looks good Val. The horses are drawn well, the reflections on the wet sand are good too.

Was this the one you posted before, seeking advice on the sea? Or am I confusing you with with someone else entirely? Either way, this works well, the sea is dramatic without being unbelievably mountainous - the only change I might make would be to lower the horizon even more, say to the farthest line of surf, because it does look a little like a wall of water, at some variance with the calm of the foreground scene. And I think the perspective of the water isn't quite there - you have large gaps between the lines of surf towards the back, and thinner ones in the front: I think it would be the other way round - but I've been having my own problems painting the sea, so I hope someone else will give their opinion!

If thats your first attempt Val, then we are in for a treat. I would make the observation that with waves of that height you would have more surf coming further up the beach, and the waves should be further apart, also, try "breaking up" the uniformity of colour in the sea possibly by introducing some olive green and/or Davy grey. As I said, I look forward to your next seascape.

Thank you so much Carole, Bill and Robert for you encouragement and I have taken on board what you both have said. I will have another go at it in a few weeks when it comes out of the "dunces corner". At the moment it is in the corner of the studio facing the wall where it will stay for a while 'til I feel ready to view it again with fresh eyes. It's great being able to post on a site like this and get such invaluable feedback and, yes Robert, you might have seen this on a different forum where I asked for, and got, good advice. ( this is the revised version!! Version 3 in a few weeks!!)

You still manage to bring a smile to my face Val, I love the dunces corner bit! That you are not by the way. Robert & Bill do have a point, three nice waves and lowering the horizon is good. I love the reflections and the horses just coming into the painting from the right. Lovely composition. PS Just a little note to say did you get my mail. Besides everything else I have been mucking about with a new computer. Windows 7 - having a lot of trouble with the mail. Jeannette x