Quiet water at Oulton Broad

Oulton Broad Boats near the Wherry Hotel watercolour

There is a particular rhythm to Oulton Broad, one dictated less by the clock and more by the slow, deliberate movement of water against wood. I wanted to focus on how the light shifts across the surface of the river and settles on the hulls of the moored boats.

Painting this required balancing the solid, architectural weight of the Wherry Hotel in the background with the buoyancy of the boats in the foreground. I used watercolour for its transparency, allowing the white of the paper to provide the brightness of the Suffolk sky, while the ink work helps to anchor the forms.

The challenge was not to overwork the water; it is often better to leave a mark where it falls than to adjust it until the life has gone out of it. It is a quiet study of a place that holds a steady, grounded place in the local landscape.