Feeling a bit under the weather lately (oh, poor me), I determined to take some air and partake of a brief constitutional along the Meols/Hoylake promenade on the Wirral coast, along which perambulation I passed this painting, which I made about 4 years ago.

It’s one of several paintings made by Wirral artists – mainly depicting seabirds known to frequent these shores – that together constitute the Waders Walk open air gallery.

My effort here depicts an egret in flight and was based on a photograph by wildlife photographer Ninaada Bellippady.

My painting was made on wood panel measuring around 120 x 60 cm, in acrylics. I vaguely recall the acrylics behaving differently to usual – sliding across the surface – as a result of the application of an alternative ground (the details of which I unhelpfully can’t remember).

The panel was subsequently coated with something to protect it from the weather and gulls, at least one of whom has left its’ own comment on the painting regardless (much in evidence on the left wing of the egret), which I didn’t take to be a positive review. I suppose if the air mail delivery was actually deposited by an egret, it would add an element of authenticity to the painting.

I’m guessing there were some of your actual rare birds on the shoreline during my walk, judging from the higher than usual number of humans with impressive-looking cameras or binoculars pointing out towards the Irish Sea. Some of them (the birds, not the humans) are no doubt captured as blurs somewhere in this photograph, which is the scenic view from Waders Walk.