Sandpipers, Alnmouth 1933

Winifred Nicholson made this painting of sandpipers at Alnmouth with soft washes of color, mostly browns and blues. I like how the marks are so simple, so economical! It makes me think about how much editing goes into making something look effortless. I can imagine her, brush in hand, watching the birds dart across the beach, trying to capture their fleeting presence with just a few strokes. The way she suggests movement with those little V shapes, it’s like she’s translating the birds’ energy directly onto the canvas. The whole scene is bathed in a hazy light, and that little pool of blue in the background, it feels like a portal to another world. Nicholson was so good at finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Painters like her, they remind us to slow down and really see.