David Sawyer RBA (born 1961) - Overcast Day, Deal Beach

Original British Coastal Oil Painting

David Sawyer RBA (born 1961) - Oil on Board
“Overcast Day, Deal Beach”

A broad and atmospheric coastal view of Deal Beach in Kent, painted by David Sawyer RBA in 2020.

Key Details

Artist: David Sawyer RBA (born 1961)
Title: Overcast Day, Deal Beach
Date: 2020
Medium: Oil on board
Signature: Signed on the reverse
Inscription: Titled and dated on the reverse
Visible Artwork: 24.5 × 60 cm (9.6 × 23.6 in)
Board Size: approximately 25.4 × 59.7 cm (10 × 23.5 in)
Framed Size: 37 × 72 cm (14.6 × 28.3 in)
Frame: Painted moulded frame
Condition: Very good overall condition, both the artwork and frame
Location: Deal, Kent, England

Description

The composition looks along the beach towards the seafront buildings and Deal Pier, with fishing boats and small structures gathered along the shoreline.

Sawyer uses the wide panoramic format particularly effectively, allowing the open beach and low horizon to create a strong sense of space. The overcast sky is handled in soft blue-grey and cream tones, while warmer earth colours across the shingle bring texture and movement to the foreground.

Small touches of colour among the boats, buildings and beach equipment animate the scene without disturbing its quiet coastal atmosphere. Sawyer’s direct brushwork is especially evident across the beach, where individual marks suggest scattered stones and shifting surfaces.

The artwork and frame are both in very good overall condition and the painting is ready to hang.

About the Artist

David Sawyer RBA was born in London in 1961 and studied at Canterbury College of Art from 1979 to 1983. He describes himself as a modern British Impressionist and is particularly interested in architectural subjects and the way changing light creates mood and reveals structure.

His subjects range from London and historic European cities to coastal landscapes and Mediterranean views. Oil is Sawyer’s principal medium, although he also uses watercolour for preparatory studies and to explore ideas.

He was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 2004 and has exhibited with the Royal Society of British Artists, the New English Art Club, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and the Chelsea Art Society, as well as through established commercial galleries.

His commissions have included London views for a City boardroom and paintings for the State Rooms aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2.

Provenance and Notes

The reverse is inscribed Overcast Day, Deal Beach, 2020. A further inscription identifies the painting as by David Sawyer RBA, and the artist’s signature appears separately on the backing board.

The painting belongs to Sawyer’s established body of British coastal work. Its panoramic proportions are particularly effective for the subject, placing the long sweep of Deal Beach and the horizontal line of the pier at the centre of the composition.