Off Duty – Ruhl Plage, Nice

50 × 70 cm
Acrylic on canvas

Off Duty – Ruhl Plage, Nice is an original contemporary Mediterranean painting inspired by the iconic blue-and-white striped beach club at Ruhl Plage in Nice, on the French Riviera. A man in swim shorts and sunglasses relaxes on a beach bed, gazing out at the Mediterranean Sea as the summer light washes across the scene. Created with acrylic paint on canvas, the painting celebrates the light, colour and atmosphere of a summer day on the Côte d'Azur. 

One of the things that fascinates me most about places like Ruhl Plage is how different lives unfold within the same landscape. Hotel guests and tourists come to slow down and enjoy the Mediterranean, while beach club staff quietly prepare umbrellas, arrange sunbeds, keep the cocktails flowing and keep everything running behind the scenes. Although they share the same view, their experiences are worlds apart.

Built through layers of acrylic, oil and hand-painted paper collage, Off Duty reinterprets this familiar scene through memory, simplified forms and bold graphic composition, capturing not just the place itself, but the feeling of being there.

Inspirations

One of the things that fascinates me most about the Côte d'Azur is how many different lives unfold within the same landscape. At Ruhl Plage, hotel guests and beachgoers come to slow down, soak up the Mediterranean sun and lose track of time, while, just a few metres away, beach club staff quietly prepare umbrellas, arrange sunbeds and keep everything running behind the scenes. Although everyone shares the same view, their experiences couldn't be more different. Sometimes I even find myself wondering if the man relaxing in the sun and the beach attendant could almost be the same person—simply seen in different moments of the day, or different chapters of life.

Then there's the artist and designer in me, who is, quite obviously, drooling over the bold graphic rhythm of Ruhl Plage's iconic blue-and-white striped umbrellas, the strong horizontal bands of beach, sea and sky, and the beautiful tension between this ordered geometry and the ever-changing movement of the Mediterranean, the wind and the light. It's that balance between human stories and visual composition that continues to inspire my work.

One of the things that fascinates me most about the Côte d'Azur is how many different lives unfold within the same landscape. At Ruhl Plage, hotel guests and beachgoers come to slow down, soak up the Mediterranean sun and lose track of time, while, just a few metres away, beach club staff quietly prepare umbrellas, arrange sunbeds and keep everything running behind the scenes. Although everyone shares the same view, their experiences couldn't be more different. Sometimes I even find myself wondering if the man relaxing in the sun and the beach attendant could almost be the same person—simply seen in different moments of the day, or different chapters of life.

Then there's the artist and designer in me, who is, quite obviously, drooling over the bold graphic rhythm of Ruhl Plage's iconic blue-and-white striped umbrellas, the strong horizontal bands of beach, sea and sky, and the beautiful tension between this ordered geometry and the ever-changing movement of the Mediterranean, the wind and the light. It's that balance between human stories and visual composition that continues to inspire my work.

Material & Features

• Original artwork
• Acrylic on canvas & collage
• 50 × 70 cm
• Gallery-wrapped canvas
• 2026
• Signed on the front
• Certificate of Authenticity included
• Worldwide shipping available upon request

• Original artwork
• Acrylic on canvas & collage
• 50 × 70 cm
• Gallery-wrapped canvas
• 2026
• Signed on the front
• Certificate of Authenticity included
• Worldwide shipping available upon request

Creative Process

Like much of my work, Off Duty grew out of repeated observation rather than a single moment. Ruhl Plage is a place I return to often throughout the year—not just in summer, but in winter, spring and autumn—to walk, swim, observe and absorb its ever-changing atmosphere. Each season reveals a different personality: winter brings dramatic winds, deep cobalt blues and striking contrasts, while summer transforms the beach into a slower, more relaxed world of sunbathers, conversations and long afternoons by the sea.

Working from my own photographs and sketches, I reimagined the composition to tell a new story and create a visual dialogue with its companion piece, On Duty – Ruhl Plage. I reworked the composition to juxtapose horizontal and vertical planes, bringing together the elements that stayed with me most. The vivid blue, wind-swept Mediterranean is borrowed from the cooler months, while the relaxed mood and human presence belong unmistakably to summer—the season in which the painting was created. Together, the two works explore the contrasting yet interconnected experiences of leisure and work unfolding within the same landscape.

Built up through layers of acrylic on canvas, Off Duty is not a literal depiction of Ruhl Plage, but a reconstruction of memory, atmosphere and lived experience.

Like much of my work, Off Duty grew out of repeated observation rather than a single moment. Ruhl Plage is a place I return to often throughout the year—not just in summer, but in winter, spring and autumn—to walk, swim, observe and absorb its ever-changing atmosphere. Each season reveals a different personality: winter brings dramatic winds, deep cobalt blues and striking contrasts, while summer transforms the beach into a slower, more relaxed world of sunbathers, conversations and long afternoons by the sea.

Working from my own photographs and sketches, I reimagined the composition to tell a new story and create a visual dialogue with its companion piece, On Duty – Ruhl Plage. I reworked the composition to juxtapose horizontal and vertical planes, bringing together the elements that stayed with me most. The vivid blue, wind-swept Mediterranean is borrowed from the cooler months, while the relaxed mood and human presence belong unmistakably to summer—the season in which the painting was created. Together, the two works explore the contrasting yet interconnected experiences of leisure and work unfolding within the same landscape.

Built up through layers of acrylic on canvas, Off Duty is not a literal depiction of Ruhl Plage, but a reconstruction of memory, atmosphere and lived experience.

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