I didn't set out to paint this particular landscape for The Day in May project, however on the first anniversary of a friend passing in early may, my family and I chose to walk along one of the wildest stretches of coast we knew, between Cley and Salthouse in North Norfolk.

It was not to mark the day as such, but more of an instinct to seek out one of the wildest landscapes we could. In a month that I will remember for its heat and beauty, this particular day met us with a respectful soft grey light, and gentle mist. The North Sea raged on our behalf. We walked together and chatted, we walked together in silence, and as we walked we were rewarded with encounters that helped us to forget ourselves and our burdens. The star fish we found washed ashore but was still alive, which my son, after removing his socks and shoes, gingerly returned (as best he could) to the sea. The nesting Swans in the long reeds, the cows standing together- a herd belonging to one another. Unusual birds that we could not yet name that had flown across for the summer, we found the bones of an animal washed smooth by the sea, and my daughter found a mermaid's purse.

This instinct for the wild rewarded us as we were reminded that there was still beauty, how important these protected wildernesses are, and in finding ourselves as part of something bigger than we could explain, we felt a little better.

This painting was painted the next day in the studio.