Monthly Archives: December 2020

Places I would like to be – Norfolk in the UK

Sunset at Hunstanton

Hi Everybody

This will be my last post of 2020 and it will be a year I am sure we will not look back on happily.

There have been many lows but some wonderful highs such as the achievement to create new vaccines so quickly and the care so many have shown to others in such troubled times.

My watercolours have been a wonderful visual journey to get me through these lockdown days and during the year I have painted well over one hundred watercolours of many places around the world as real travel has had to be replaced with fantasy journeys to places that we love or would like to go to.

To all of you who have taken the time to look at these posts, my grateful thanks,  and I hope that as 2021 arrives we can all look forward with more optimism to a better world.

And so it was that over the holidays I was talking to a friend about Norfolk and it spurred me into action to do one of these  “Places I would like to be” posts. I do plan to go there in 2021!!!

With travel a distant memory it would be good to be in Norfolk for it’s lovely countryside, coast, big skies and amazing sunsets. Not to mention the food and yes, Norfolk wine too!

So here are some watercolours painted over the past few years of Norfolk and they will help me and I hope you to reminisce  about or if you don’t know the area to get on to your list!

One of those big Norfolk Skies and  the shore

Let’s start on the coast where the lovely beaches meet the sky

On the North coast lies the picturesque town of Balakeney  famous as one the best places to try crab rolls and sandwiches. Blakeney is apopular harbour town with many boats and yachts moored there ready for the incoming tide.

Here is my watercolour of the harbour, a great place to sit and watch the world go by!

The quay at Blakeney

And one of some boats waiting for the tide

Waiting for the tide

To the east of Blakeney is the pretty little town of Cley Next The Sea, with is equally famous windmill which has been the subject of paintings for over two hundred years.

Here is one of my watercolour but in the style of the very famous watercolourist, Edward Seago whose paintings of the British coast and Europe too are all really wonderful. I really admire his work done in the 20th Century.

Cley windmill in the style of Edward Seago.

And here is another of the Cley Windmill but in my more usual style

Cley windmill pen and wash sketch painted on site.

In 2019 I was lucky to go to a watercolour workshop held at The White House Hotel at Sussex farm, with Herman Pekel, a fantastic Australian watercolour painter and we painted around the Burnham Market area , a very pretty town and with great places to eat and drink too!

These are some of the watercolours I produced during that week with his help and guidance.

Burnham Overy Staithes

Local houses near Burnham Overy Staithes, right opposite the Hero pub with it great food and drink!

The pond at Sussex farm Hotel, The White House, a great place to stay.

Across the Norfolk fields

A Tidal inlet near Thornham

Near Burnham Overy Staithes

Thornham Old Harbour

Boats moored at Wells next The Sea painted on a bench by the coast.

And lastly a dawn seascape at Sctby on the East coast of Norfolk

Dawn at Scratby beach

I am sorry this has been a long post but anyway I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse of Norfolk and that you have a Very Happy 2021.

Best wishes

Brian

Around Broadstairs in Kent in Watercolour

                            Around Broadstairs in Watercolours

Dawn breaks at Broadstairs. Watercolour 13 inches by 9 on Arches paper.

A couple of years ago a venue for the Sky Arts Landscape painter of the Year competition was Broadstairs in Kent, and I was lucky enough to be selected to paint there on that day.(I didn’t get selected for the final alas though!)

Although we had been to Broadstairs before that from then on I have enjoyed visting this  picturesque seaside town,  and painting watercolours from various photos  and some sketches.

So I have collected a few in this post which I hope will encourage you visit to our sandy beached resorts on the Kent coast.

The watercolour I painted during the Sky Arts completion. Painted over a 4 hour period on the sandy beach, and it was 28c temperature! 17 inches by 12.

On that competition day I had some spare time , especially as it was so hot for painting watercolours. So I did this second monochrome version, which one of the passing judges said he liked, result! 17 inches by 12.

 

A more recent watercolour of Viking bay, trying to capture the incoming tide. 16 by 12 inches

Around the headland is Dumpton Gap bay, where the beach is strewn with large chalk rocks and at times the sea has a milky appearance. 16 inches by 12.

Just North of Broadstairs is Botany Bay and  these next two painting are the views , south and north at the Bay.

Kites flying Botany bay looking South 14 inches by 10

Botany bay looking North. 14 inches by 10.

So there you have a few views of this rather quaint Kentish seaside town with strong associations with Charles Dickens too.

In the mean time Best Wishes for Christmas and let us all hope that 2021 will turn out to be a better year that 2020.

Stay well and safe

Brian

PS. If you would like to buy any of these watercolours of any other from my blog please just contact me at  brian@brianswatercolours.com and I will respond with availability and price very quickly. A good many paintings have already found nice walls to hang on around the world so please check with me. However if already sold I am always happy to paint a new, original and unique version just for you. I don’t sell copies but I can provide Canvas style prints of most of my watercolours.

Payment can then be easily made by PayPal and courier delivery, usually only taking a few days, will follow. Prices will include the shipping to anywhere in the world.

Thanks

Brian

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

A new painting for December 2020.  “A cold walk on a Winters Day” Watercolour 14 inches by 10.

A walk in the snow

Hi Everybody

I am always most amused when the weather forecasters give us long term predictions and this year is no exception. Apparently we will always get less snow in the future. Aha! I think they said that in 1987 when we had the Great Storm in England followed by 3 feet of snow that lasted weeks and weeks, closed schools and businesses and was a lot of fun for some!

So I am not holding my breath, but as I look out on a dreary, foggy December day here in Kent I do wonder if a bit of snow might liven things up a bit, at least that would be a better reason for huddling round the fire than Covid!

Thus I am thinking that I will preempt the now inevitable snow ( now that the forecasters say we might not have any!!) by putting some of some Kent and Sussex winter scenes that I have painted watercolours of in the past and maybe then I can settle down at the easel to paint a couple of new wintry scenes as well for a follow up Christmas time blog.

Here then are a selection from what turns out to be about 23 watercolours to chose from.

Horsmonden in Kent

Leeds Castle in Kent in the snow

Kentish Oasts in the snow

The Mill pond at Wateringbury

 

Rye from the marshes on a cold winters day.

West Malling in Kent

 

Horsmonden again!

So there you are ,will we get any snow this year? Might be fun!

Best regards ‘to everyone

Brian

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