‘There was a freshness from my moving to Brighton. I was enraptured by the light and movement in the world outside my windows. It was such a change from the inland city airlessness…I drew and painted the beach with a sense of small forms in constant flux, the people, the flags and the seagulls.’ (D. Creffield quoted in R. Cork, Dennis Creffield; Art and Life, London, 2022, p. 57).

Creffield’s move to Brighton in 1968 altered his practice dramatically. Compared to the compact cities of Leeds and London, Brighton’s seaside views and its hive of vibrant activity invited Creffield to paint with a positive, renewed energy and freedom. His mark making became wonderfully spontaneous, as abstracted line and colour dance against each other on the canvas, capturing the erratic changes in the environment across the nearby shore and famous Brighton Pier as he saw them from his studio.