Tony Parsons understands the sea. Not only is he a keen and lifelong sailor, he’s also a lifeboatman based in Brighton. His work is impressionistic, knowledgeable and extremely competent. His use of colour is vibrant and luscious and he has solved one of the great seascape puzzles: simultaneously representing the three levels of the sea or “reflective refraction” as he puts it. Shown here is Emsworth at low tide, well known to many of us and it’s so evocative of the scene one can almost smell the mud. His dedication to capturing the right angle stretches to his use of an ingenious wooden canoe with stabilising outriggers to paint from the sea and up shallow creeks. His work varies from £500 to £1,500. His work is for sale; a list of galleries and more about him can be found at artistonthehill.co.uk. Guy Venables
Below: Untitled, below right: The beck, at Staithes, Scarborough, North Yorkshire. Main picture: Fishing boats at Porthleven, Helston, Cornwall
