Last month I had a visitor to my studio who got the chance to see the very start of the Essex coast sketches and photos.

What struck me was how much she enjoyed seeing both the original photographs and the tiny little sketches - and she could pick out the photo that a sketch matched, even though they were just scattered on the table.

So I thought I'd share that with you my blog readers too! You've seen photos, and you've seen the sketches. You've even seen some of the 5" colour studies. So I thought I'd line up a few for you to really see side-by-side how I distill the photo in the first instance.

The similarities are obvious. But in the sketches seen alone you wouldn't necessarily see the "place" or seaside features, though they're easily matched in the photos.

This process is what my studies are about, reducing the image bit by bit to just find the exact elements need to keep a clear reference to landscape but eliminate unnecessary visual clutter. Every painting in the coast series started from a specific photo just like these.