St Ives Harbour in Cornwall.

Hi Everybody

In 1983 we enjoyed a holiday in Crackington Haven in Cornwall. Our children were quite young then and after the sandcastles were built, the swims over, and the games played I decided to have try at a bit of sketching,  –   I had never tried before. 1 year later I had started painted holiday watercolours.

So here we are in 2021 nearly 38 years later and there have been many watercolours produced since 1973 and a fair few of Cornwall. If you follow this blog you will have seen  many of them!

I fact I notice on my stats that over the past year there have been over 9000 views from 76 different countries around the world  –Thank you for looking!

These past weeks we have also been enjoying  a Rick Stein series on Cornwall  on the TV and so these things have brought me to doing a post of some of my Cornwall watercolours, some old, and some new which I hope you will enjoy.

The header is one of St Ives , one of the most famous of Cornish towns, and like many parts of Cornwall a haven for artists.

Toward the most westerly parts of Cornwall  is Cape Cornwall and this watercolour tries to capture the Cove and Cape Cornwall from the Kenidjack valley as a storm brews over the sea.

Storm Rising at Cape Cornwall

Not far away from there is Priest’s Cove (accessible from the Cape Cornwall Car park) where a few fishing boats still go out to sea.

Priest’s Cove near Cape Cornwall

Also on the North Cornwall coast there are many ruins of Tin and Copper mines , some right at the edge of the precipitous cliffs. Here is a watercolour painted recently of the Crown Engine houses at Botallack Mine.

Stormy seas at Bottalack Mine

You can also visit the Levant Mine and beam engine a little further north and see a working Beam Engine there. Amazing for any engineering fans!.  After passing or stopping in St Ives the coast will eventually lead you to Hayle and eventually Newquay.

Further on is Bedruthan steps with great coastal views and then Padstow, a great place to have a meal or sit by the quay, as we did,  and enjoy a traditional Cornish Pasty. The passenger ferry crosses to Rock but to drive round to Rock and Polzeath the road takes you via Wadebridge.

At Polzeath there is a  great beach which is a favourite place for surfers due to the excellent waves coming in from the Atlantic.

Polzeath Beach, popular with surfers!

And a bit further on the coast is Port Quin and then the famous Port Isaac, well know as the setting for the TV series of Doc Martin.

Port Quin

A new impressionistic watercolour of Port Isaac, TV viewers will know it as Port Wenn.

Further up the North Coast, beyond Crackington Haven  is Bude, a larger summer resort again famous for the sandy beaches, and I seem to remember very good ice cream!

Bude

Leaving the North coast behind the South Coast of Cornwall is equally appealing, with quaint fishing villages, much history and beautiful coastal scenery.

A few places that I have painted watercolours of are here now and all are well worth a visit if you are there.

St Clements is near to Truro on the River Tresillian. I was introduced to it by another blogger who produces a great Blog about Cornish History and Folklore  ( Cornishbirdblog.com   The Cornish Bird) and this watercolour is, with permission, from a photo from that blog.

The village of St Clements near Truro

The south coast has so many great places to visit but here is just one real favourite of ours, Mousehole, tricky to park at though!

Recent watercolour from photos of Mousehole on the Cornish Coast

Lastly for this post about my Cornwall watercolours is a view of St Michael’s Mount, where today there is the choice of ferry or a walk across the Causeway at low tide.

This watercolour tries to capture the scene as people arrive from the last evening ferry.

“Arriving on the last ferry”.  St Michael’s Mount near Marazion on the South Cornwall Coast

I have only been able to give you a flavour of the “Delights of Cornwall “here but it is a great County of England to visit. In many ways it is unique and has the most stunning coastal scenery and lovely towns and villages to spend time in..

I hope you will be able to visit there and that we too will once more be able to go there again.

Happy travelling — when you can!

Stay safe and well

Brian