If you can't make it to the beach this bank holiday, spending a few moments meditating on Milton Avery's 'Beach Blankets' should have the same effect 🏖️ At first glance, this painting looks completely abstract, with blocks of solid colour in bright tones, but look again and you'll see a line of horizon, the sea and the blankets lain on the sand. Unlike his friends Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman, Avery was not one for complete abstraction – many of his paintings were based on sketches made 'en plain air' (outdoors) during holidays. He travelled with his family during the summers, painting the landscapes of Maine and Cape Cod before spending winters in New York completing full scale paintings like this one. Milton Avery's luminous painting are on show now at the RA – get tickets at the link in bio! Milton Avery, 'Beach Blankets', 1960. Oil on canvas. 136.2 x 181.9 cm. Wichita Art Museum. Gift of Marian and S. O. Beren, Wichita, Kansas © 2022 Milton Avery Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London 2022. #RAMiltonAvery