1996 oil on canvas 600 x 840mm sold
This was inspired by a walk along Pukehina Beach, in the Bay of Plenty. The beach was long and straight, with the Pacific Ocean on the left hand side. I found three pieces of driftwood. One was a long thin stick, which I used to draw the circular ball shape in the sand. I was in the centre, and as I rotated on a fixed point (as fixed as it can be on beach sand), the point of the stick continued arcing out the curve around me.

I also found a small piece of driftwood, which was the exact shape of the red and yellow ferret-like object in the lower right of the painting, next to the beach-ball. Only the colours have been changed. All the rest of the painting just slowly formed in my head as I walked back along the beach. You can’t beat nature scenes for inspiration.