The 4 P.M. Wave

The 4 P.M. Wave in Nice was inspired by a familiar sight on the French Riviera: the late-afternoon swell that transforms the usually calm Mediterranean into a powerful, rhythmic landscape. Returning to the Promenade des Anglais day after day, I became fascinated by this fleeting moment when the sea shifts character, the light grows warmer, and the beach takes on a completely different energy. Rather than documenting a specific view, I reduced the composition to its essential elements: the force of the wave, the shifting blues of the Mediterranean, the horizon, and the small figures scattered along the shoreline. Seen from above, the beachgoers begin to resemble the iconic galets of Nice themselves, becoming part of the landscape. The wave is the hero of the painting, built with a palette knife to communicate movement, texture and energy. The elongated shadows cast by the afternoon sun evoke the distinctive 4 p.m. light, while each figure suggests a different emotional response to the sea—relaxation, joy, anticipation, wonder or awe. Painted in acrylic and mixed media, The 4 P.M. Wave in Nice is an original contemporary painting inspired by Nice, the French Riviera and the Mediterranean. This one-of-a-kind coastal landscape artwork celebrates the power of the sea through bold colour, simplified forms and a graphic visual language that has become central to my work. The 4 P.M. Wave in Nice was inspired by a familiar sight on the French Riviera: the late-afternoon swell that transforms the usually calm Mediterranean into a powerful, rhythmic landscape. Returning to the Promenade des Anglais day after day, I became fascinated by this fleeting moment when the sea shifts character, the light grows warmer, and the beach takes on a completely different energy. Rather than documenting a specific view, I reduced the composition to its essential elements: the force of the wave, the shifting blues of the Mediterranean, the horizon, and the small figures scattered along the shoreline. Seen from above, the beachgoers begin to resemble the iconic galets of Nice themselves, becoming part of the landscape. The wave is the hero of the painting, built with a palette knife to communicate movement, texture and energy. The elongated shadows cast by the afternoon sun evoke the distinctive 4 p.m. light, while each figure suggests a different emotional response to the sea—relaxation, joy, anticipation, wonder or awe. Painted in acrylic and mixed media, The 4 P.M. Wave in Nice is an original contemporary painting inspired by Nice, the French Riviera and the Mediterranean. This one-of-a-kind coastal landscape artwork celebrates the power of the sea through bold colour, simplified forms and a graphic visual language that has become central to my work.