Monthly Archives: April 2016
Spring on the Cote d’Azur
Hi Folks
We have just returned from lovely week with friends in the south of France on the Cote d’Azur.
It is remarkable how advanced all the trees and plants are there at this time of year. The trees are covered in leaves and many roses are in full bloom already. Spring warmth is really noticeable and we had fine weather although some days had a little wind as well as sun.
Two highlights were a trips to Antibes, St Tropez by the St Maxime ferry and a few hours at the Honey Festival in Mouans-Sartoux, a small town about 10 miles from Cannes. There, many honey producers had stalls and were selling their honey, prominently Lavender honey of course as it is Provence after all!
There were also lots of other things to see including the Chateaux, and some fine jazz was being played in the square whilst we sat and enjoyed some coffee.
Only a few paintings on this trip but hopefully you will like them. First of all painting of a yacht sailing past as we approached St Tropez on the ferry. Just little bit of artistic license to get the positioning right of course!
A yacht sailing off St Tropez. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
We always seem to visit Antibes to stroll around the walls and visit the markets held there. So once agin a painting of the spring scene from the coast showing Antibes and the mountains behind still with snow on their peaks. I couldn’t resist adding the painter in the foreground just for fun!
Antibes in the Spring sun.
And lastly a painting of the poppies in the fields in a village in the Provence countryside. Don’t search for the village though as it may not really exist! It was the poppies at a roadside that inspired this painting. Out much earlier that in England they looked so elegant in the sun.
Poppies in Provence
I hope you enjoy this short post.
If you are new to my blog please also visit my Guide Book Page above for this region of France, or look for Brian Tucker on the iBook store. They are free!
Happy travelling
Brian
A Weekend in Amsterdam.
Tulip Fields and a Windmill in the Netherlands inspired by a postcard I saw which is I believe from an original photo by Jaap Hart.
Hi Everybody
We have just had the pleasure of a long weekend in Amsterdam with some good friends.
It was really very enjoyable and our travel on Eurostar was excellent as was the hotel we stayed in called the INK Hotel. It was only about 15 minutes walk from the Central Station and is very good, I would recommend it if you are there. I would also recommend three restaurants too that we found whilst there. They were Haesje Claes, a great Dutch food restaurant, Indrapura, a terrific Indonesian style restaurant with music and BakkersWinkel a great place for breakfast near to our hotel.
As well as looking around Amsterdam and taking a Canal tour we spent a day at Keukenhof Gardens where each spring they display their fabulous collections of flowers but especially Tulips. These displays of Tulips are nothing short of fantastic!
So in amongst the eating, walking, and museum visits, I managed just two very quick watercolours of the buildings of Amsterdam and one of some bulb fields and countryside which was inspired by a postcard I saw in the shops!
The building ones are in a style I don’t often employ using pen and ink and washes which seemed appropriate for these subjects.
Amsterdam Houses by a Canal
Houses and Shops by a Canal in Amsterdam
I hope you will like these and our Amsterdam recommendations
Happy travelling!
Brian
Well done Danny Willett, Master’s Champion!
The 12th Hole at Augusta National Golf Course
Hi Everybody
Some time ago I posted about “Places that I would like to visit”. The first one was of Lake Bled, Bellagio and New Zealand and my thanks to those who enjoyed seeing the paintings and the post.
This is the second in this occasional series of watercolours of places that I do hope to visit one day.
This post is about The Master Golf Championship at Augusta in Georgia in the USA, and the far North West of Scotland.
Being a keen golfers for many years I have watched the Masters Golf each year and that yearning to visit returns each year. It isn’t just for the golf ,the course looks both amazing and very beautiful at this time of year with flowers and Azaleas in full bloom.
From a photo, taken of the TV screen, I painted the watercolour above, a few years ago, which I hope you will like.
Maybe one day I will visit but until then just watching and painting has to be enough!
By next Sunday we will know who is this year’s Winner and Augusta National will disappear from our screens for another year but the memory of the course will remain. Good luck to all the golfers who are playing this magnificent course.
The second pair of paintings were gifts to some friends who love to spend time in the far North West of Scotland, near Durness and Cape Wrath. Painted from photos they try to capture the beautiful coastline at Balnakiel Bay and Sandwood Bay. The coastline of Britain is spectacular and these two parts of Scotland are more places that I would like one day to get to.
Balnakiel Bay near Durness in Scotland
Sandwood Bay on the North West coast of Scotland
I’ll just add them to my bucket list!
Happy painting, Travelling and Golfing!
Brian
