Sunny September reveals McNicoll’s skill in representing sunlight. In this image of three figures standing on a grassy hill looking out over the beach, the artist represents the effects of sunshine on a variety of surfaces: the shadows accenting bright white dresses, the sunburnt cheeks of the main figure, the alternately green-dappled and yellow-bleached grasses, and the hazy meeting of blue sky and sea. 

As in many of McNicoll’s paintings, the other senses, of touch, smell, and sound, are also evoked here: the viewer imagines the warmth of the sun, the smell of the ocean, and the rustling sound of the long grasses. Kristina Huneault has suggested that this frequent feature of McNicoll’s work was a result, perhaps, of her loss of hearing as a child.

This Spotlight is excerpted from Helen McNicoll: Life & Work by Samantha Burton.