The artistic inspiration behind "Watching the Marsh Harrier"
Updated: 6 days ago
Sophia Williams April 24, 2025
"Watching the Marsh Harrier" is a 50 x 50 cm oil on stretched cotton canvas, painted after an early June morning on the East Bank at Cley-next-the-Sea. It's for sale at £425, and you can see it in my Stiffkey studio.
The morning I saw it
I got to the East Bank before sunrise. Mist was still sitting on the reeds and the marsh and sky ran into each other. I've stood there dozens of times, but the blue hour light that morning was different.
I set up my portable easel and did some quick sketches before the light changed. Then the marsh harrier came over, V-shaped wings low across the reeds, dipping between the reed beds as it hunted.
Back in the studio
In my Stiffkey studio I started a bigger canvas. I wasn't after a bird portrait. I wanted how it felt to stand there and watch.
I blocked in a mid tone background first, then built the misty landscape up in thin layers. The foreground reeds have more texture to give them movement. The harrier is there, but you have to look for it.
The light
Morning light on the marsh seems to come from underneath, so I started with an underpainting of warm ochres and soft blues. Bits of it still show through. It's a box canvas, so it hangs without a frame.
See the harriers yourself
Go early and walk the East Bank. The Norfolk Wildlife Trust visitor centre will tell you what's been spotted, and its café is good for warming up afterwards.
Picnic Fayre in the village has fed most of my painting trips. A coffee and a cake sees me through a morning's birdwatching, and I pick up a loaf of James's bread while I'm there.
In June, look out for Cley Open Gardens, a charity event where you can see inside the village's private gardens.
Come and see it
Email thesophiawilliams@gmail.com or call 07800590262 to arrange a studio visit. Do let me know if you fancy popping over.
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