While teaching a lovely lady today on the beach at Mawgan Porth, we were in the middle of a beautiful painting session. The sun was glowing, the tide was out, and everything was flowing perfectly.

Then, out of nowhere, as it so often does on the Cornish coast, the mist rolled in. Thick, silent, sudden. The sea disappeared. The cliffs vanished. It felt like the world had been gently wrapped in cotton wool.

We looked at each other and laughed. “Well,” I said, “this is when memory kicks in.”

And it did. We carried on, using what we’d seen and felt just moments before. Holding the light and shapes in our minds. Painting not what was in front of us, but what we knew had been there.

That’s the art of awareness. It’s not just about looking. It’s about seeing. Remembering. Feeling. Trusting yourself. Letting the image live inside you even when the outside world changes.

This image was painted during a similarly misty day. The view from the Scarlet Hotel over the cliffs of Mawgan Porth. It captures that same quiet magic, when the landscape softens and shifts.

You can find it in my art shop, along with other artworks by myself and my students, inspired by moments across Cornwall.
Please do have a look — and see which ones speak to you.

Ready to see the world differently?
Join me for a lesson on the beach or online and discover the secrets of sketch, perspective and paint.