I recall seeing a movie on TV when I was a kid in the 80’s but it was an older movie – I think it was in B & W.

An artist is given an space to live above a restaurant in exchange for creating a painting of the restaurant for the owner.  He spends a lot of time working on the painting until one day the police show up looking for the artist because there has been a murder.  The owner takes the police to see the work that the artist has been working on (it is his alibi), but the canvas is blank.   I also recall a beach scene.