Author Archives: brianswatercolours
A few days in Dorset
Evening glow at Lyme Regis in Dorset. Watercolour 18 inches by 6
Recently we were able to spend a few days in Dorset, a coastal and beautiful County in Southern England.
Home to Thomas Hardy and with really lovely countryside and coast Dorest is a very popular destination. Athough not quite so busy in Novemebr it is nevertheless a great County to visit at any time.
We based ourselves in Evershot in the very comfortable Summer Lodge Hotel, and also there is the Acorn Inn, a good place to eat.
Quite near to Dorchester , with it s new annex town of Poundbury, this is a good location for both coast and countryside.
The Dorset Countryside of rolling hills and luscious farmland
We were able to visit Thomas Hardy’s birthplace Cottage and his grander house of “Max Gate”, and learn a lot about the life of this extraordinary Victorian writer, poet and architect.
Time to for a few quick sketches in between the showers , although our day spent mostly in Lyme Regis was sunny and pleasant.
A sketch of the Lyme Regis Harbour from the Cobb.
Lyme Refis a a delightful seaside town with beaches and the famous harbour , with it’s famous Cobb harbour, plenty of shops ,cafés and Fossil shops, as this is the heart of the Jurassic cost where fossils abound in the cliffs.
Looking toward the town Of Lyme Regis from Cobb Gate is Below is m sketch of Thomas Hardy’s birthplace and later his home where many of his earlier books were written. In later life he wrote more books and a large amount of poetry too.
So a very enjoyable few days and a a chance to renew our acquaintance with Dorset after many years
If you haven’t spent any time in Dorset then do add it to you future plans
Delightful in every respect and some the strangest town names anywhere.
Thoma Hardy’s Cottage, nestled in the woods near Dorchester.
Nearby to Hardy’s cottage are Piddletrenthide, Puddletown and Scratchy Bottom, to name only a few!
Happy travelling
Brian
Where did the Summer go!
A few days in La Napoule near Cannes resulted in this sketch of the local Castle
Hi Everybody
Thanks for reading my Blog.
Its been a wet and rather odd summer in Kent this year with showers, wind, heavy rain and sun too.
It has been a odd time for my painting too but nevertheless I have managed to paint quite a few watercolours including s9me new styles and sizes.
i have also now have some watercolours in a local Gallery and in a few other locations in Kent.
I don’t think that in these difficult times that buying Art is not high on peoples priorities but maybe the winter will see sales retuning for artists once again.
So we here are some recent watercolours for you to see in case you think I have stopped painting!
I had a big desire to paint a series of very impressionistic watercolours and here are some of them
Bamburgh Castle at Dawn
Venice Lagoon sunrise
Dawn off the Kent coast
And a few more traditional watercolours
A sketch of the Watersmeet hotel where we once stayed at in Devon at Coombesgate bay
A large notebook sketch done in preparation for a watercolour of Malcesine on Lake Garda for some very good friends.
Sailing on Lake Windermere, painted from a sketch when we visited there
At the Beach!
Broadstairs in Kent for a local Exhibition at “The Drawing Room” in West Malling
So there you are , a few of my Summer 2023 Watercolours which I hope you will like.
And lastly our local Art Club asked for a Black and white only artwork for a little competion
Here are two , they were such fun to do and so quick!
Oare Creek near Faversham
Rye in East Sussex at low tide
If you do a moment do have a look at my Artfinder site
http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
Or if you are in Kent do visit the Gallery in West Malling called “The Drawing Room”where you will find many artworks by local Kent artists, ideal as Presents!
Happy travelling
Brian
Sketching in the English Peak District
Chatsworth and the River Derwent, watercolour sketch 20 inches by 10.
In Derbyshire lies the English Peak district.
An area of great classical English country beauty with rolling hills, interesting towns, famous historical Country Houses and , in the High Peak some really spectacular scenery.
So for a few days we stayed in a great Hotel, The Cavendish Hotel at Baslow, It is very close to Chatsworth House and whilst based there we toured around this fine part of Central England.
Good and generous food portions and really delightful scenery abound and so it was a nice opportunity to do some sketching and painting of the area.
As we were so close to Chatsworth we spent some time there both inside this extravagant home of one of England’s historically richest families and in the countryside of the Derbyshire Dales.
If you haven’t visited this area it is very well worth doing so.
A more formal watercolour of the River Derwent as it passes by Chatsworth. Watercolour on Arches 300gsm paper. 14 iches by 10. For sale on Artfinder.
Derbyshire and the Paek District has some wonderful Pack horse bridges and waterfalls. Here are Sketches of two of them to give you some idea of the great scenery to be seen in the area.
A bridge over the River Wye near Bakewell
A Derbyshire Pack Horse bridge
Whilst in the Peak District one the best places to visit is the Hope Valley and Castleton. Castleton is a nice small town nesting below Winnats Pass with lots of pubs and coffee shops. It is also the home of Blue John Jewellery which is mined just outside the Town.
From Castleton the drive over Winnats Pass is amazing and for those with better walking capabilities than I it is a wonderful hiking area. At the top of Winnats Pass the scenery is really lovely with Mam Tor and the high peak area really delightful.
This sketch tries to capture that panorama there but you reall have to go there to experience the spectacular nature if the area.
On the top of Winnats Pass. A watercolour sketch 21 by 10
We visited the very interesting village of Eyam. There in 1665 plague struck and the villagers virtually sealed themselves off to await their fate, and thus not infect others. Many died both there and right across the UK and Eur0pe. In Eyam there is an excellent museum with great details of the history of that time and a lot of very interesting information about the village and the plague.
Quite close to the M1 in this area you will also find Hardwick House, the former home of Bess of Hardwick and the creator of Chatsworth. Another great house to visit and get the feel of Elizabethan 17th Century England.
We enjoyed our time in The Peak District a great deal and will return there again to explore more of the scenery, towns and villages of the area.
Happy travelling
Brian
Don’t forget you can see many of my watercolours at http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours where they are for sale.And also on http://www.artgallery.co.uk
A Great Week in Northern Ireland.
A Panorama watercolour sketch of Donaghadee on the North coast of County Down.22 inches by 8
It was great to spend a week visiting friends and family in Northern Ireland and revisiting many great locations there, luckily I was able to fit in a few watercolour sketches along the way!
Readers of this blog will be familiar with how much we enjoy the North Antrim Coast and the spectacular scenery there.
Even the drive from Larne to Portrush is spectacular with the Causeway Coastal Route hugging the coast for so many wonderful miles.
We based ourselves this time in a great house rental in Whiteabbey (Abbeyselfcatering.co.uk) which I would strongly recommend as it’s location, near to Belfast and Carrickfergus is a great touring base for all of Northern ireland.
Whlist in Northern Ireland there wasn’t a lot of time for painting but I did manage a few “en plain air” sketches which are in this blog and were painted during out visits to the areas.
Firstly, The Giants Causeway, sitting on those famous hexagonal stones, and dodging the showers gave me time for couple of quick sketches .
The Giants Causeway. Watercolour sketch
And also the next bay with the amazing rock formations –
It is a busy place and pre-booking is well advised as coach loads of visitors, some from cruise ships, go there to marvel at this natural phenomenon.
Just a few miles further down the road is the famous Carrick -a-Rede rope bridge which is some 98 feet above the rocks below.
Here are two sketches one on cartridge paper which will give you some idea of the Bridge.
Sunset at Carrick-a-Rede. Sketch on Cartridge paper.
Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and headland with Scotland in the far background.
In the great seaside town of Ballycastle is one of the finest beaches you will see with the backdrop of the cliff known as Fair Head. This has been one of my favourite subjects over many years and here is a recent quick watercolour and a studio watercolour painted before this visit.
Fair Head and Ballycastle strand. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches 300 gsm paper.
Fair Head on the Antrim Coast. A Studio Watercolour in mixed media on prepared Canvas 24 inches by 12. Yes that is Scotland again in the background.
Of course for me a trip to Northern ireland would not be complete without a glimpse of the Mourne Mountains 30 miles south of Belfast. No time for a sketch so here are two studio watercolours of these beautiful mountains above Newcastle and Murlough Bay.
Studio watercolour of The Mourne Mountains from Murlough Bay. 21 inches by 9 on Arches paper.
And lastly a semi abstract watercolour of the same scene painted a couple of weeks ago.
Semi abstract watercolour of the Mourne’s on Arches paper. 18 inches by 9.5.
This was a short but lovely visit to Northern Ireland with is wonderful scenery, people, food and drink. ( Yes, I did manage a quick stop at the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery in Bushmills to collect some supplies!)
I hope that you will enjoy these sketches and watercolours.
If you would like to see more please download my free Guide Book to Ulster which you will find in the Header to this Blog, or search of for the book on the Apple iBookstore.,where it is also free.
Some of these and many more of my watercolours are for sale on http://www.Artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
Happy travelling
Brian
Experimenting with watercolour abstract painting
Hi Everybody
I have been experimenting with some watercolours that have some abstract ideas in then and I have really been enjoying the challenge.
Whilst trying to preserve lanscape and seascape ideas these paintings have a bit of abstraction about them and I hopw you will like them
They are fun to produce and they can also be upscaled as Giclée prints to create large centrepiece paintings up to 1 metre wide and this is an exciting prospect too.
Hre are some recent ones for you to see and any of your thoughts would be appreciated.
I hope you will enjoy these
Happy Travelling
Brian
Norfolk Fens. Watercolour 90 by 20 cms
The Island. Watercolour 46 by 24 cms
The Lighthouse. Watercolour 90 cms by 20.
Norfolk River scene. Watercolour 85 by 22 cms
Venice Lagoon Sunset, watercolour46 by 35cms
The Mourne Mountains. Watercolour 46 by 24
A recurring theme – Lavender in Provence!
Hi Everyone
Over the years I have enjoyed painting Lavender fields as we have travelled throughout Provence in France.
The colour is always amazing and can vary quite bit but nearly always there are little or large farmhouses or villages that add something to the scene.
Sometimes I confess the houses, villages and fields move around a bit, well that is just a bit of artistic licence!
So I have searched back through the photo archives of my watercolours and I found all these.
I hope you will enjoy this retrospective of many years of watercolour.
Some are sketches, some much larger watercolours, one or two were even just postcard size as well!
Happy travelling
Brian
Drôme le Provencal
Two weeks in Provence!
Hi Everbody
We have just returned from two lovely weeks holiday in Provence, one of our most favourite areas in the World.
Lavender fields near Castel de Mornas on our journey to Provence
We drove from the UK in leisurely style stopping twice on the two long journeys.
Alas we hasd a lot of thunderstorms in the afternoons and evenings whilst in Tourettes, near Fayence in Provence, but that didn’t stop us enjoying it all a lot . It did curtail eating dinners outside in the evenings though which we were very surprised were occurring in June. Storms often seem to be more common in August and September after a long hot summer.
I was able to do quite a lot of painting watercolours which of course I really enjoyed.
Below are my efforts which I hope you will like.The string of hill villages and towns from Vence to Seillans and beyond are are delightful, lovely narrow streets to wander through, and so here is Tourettes where were were staying in a lovely traditional home with views of the countryside.
Tourettes, pen and wash sketch , 10 inches by 9.
Close by is the village of Callian. These fortified towns are very old and each one is well worth the visit. In each you will find cafes, boulangeries, and restaurants with delightful local produce to enjoy.
Callian near Montauroux and Fayence. Watercolour sketch 10 inches by 9
Non more so than Seillans where the restaurant “Chez Hugo” is very good and the setting of the Restaurant “La Gloire de Mon Pere” is depicted below.
La Gloire de Mon Père . Watercolour sketch 10 inches by 9
Nearby too was Fayence where in the square by the Église Saint Jean Baptiste are Cafés and Restaurants , and many more further up into the town.
Further north from Seillans and Fayence is the fine town of Bargemon
Here is quick sketch of the shoppers there.
Of course whilst in the Côte D’Azur we could not resist a trip to St Tropez, using the ferry from St Maxime. We were very lucky to see a large yacht race going on in the waters just off St Tropez too and here is watercolour of the scene as we entered the harbour there.
The yacht race off St Tropez. Watercolour 14 inches by 7 on Arches paper.
In St Tropez there are so many great scenes but this new one is from the Quad towards the Church. The church is a great landmark from all around.
Cafés and stalls on the Quai at St Tropez. Watercolour and ink sketch 10 inches by 9.
This is a watercolour from a previous visit but as it one on my all time favourite scenes to paint I could not resist including it here
Port de Pêche in St Tropez from Le Quai de la Pesquière. Watercolour 18 inches by 14, on Arches paper.
And one more, a back street with lovely restaurants at the rear of that famous Church
From St Tropez, after lunch in Le Mazaran restaurant, (with the green umbrellas above and great omelette and chips, washed down with local Rosé wine) we took the ferry back to St Maxime and then we drove all the way round the coast back to La Napoule via St Aygulf, Fréjus, StRaphael, Agay and Théoule sur Mer on the wonderful Esterel coast road, surely one of the greatest coastal drives in the world!
being on the Côte D’Azur is never complete for us without a visit to Antibes and so we also went there once again. With the great castle opposite Antibes is a lovely town to visit and enjoy a coffee ,or lunch in one of the many eateries there.
Antibes and the mountains behind the town. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches Watercolour paper
We really do love Provence and the Côte d’Azur, and no doubt we will be back again in the future
Until then I hope you have enjoyed these few watercolours of this wonderful region of France
Happy Travelling
Brian
A great painting day in Arlington Bluebell Woods in Sussex
The woodlands at Bates Green Farm at Arlington in Sussex are famous for the intensity and the vast amount of Bluebells there in the Spring.
I am most indebted to Alison Cotton , a local Sussex Artist and Watercolour tutor, for arranging this lovely day there in what turned out to be perfect sunny and warm weather!
Phillipa, from the Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen prepared a really tasty lunch of Asparagus Quiches, amazing salads and a Rhubarb crumble for the eight of us which was all really delicious.
Having the extensive woods all to ourselves was amazing and we all really enjoyed watching Alison’s demonstrations and trying hard to capture the colour and the masses of bluebells , with the trees and dappled shade of their surroundings.
I was pleased to have had time for three watercolours 14 inches by 10 and to have time to take many reference photos for the future.
So here are my efforts. Painting watercolours “en plein air” is always tricky but in the warm dappled sun it was nevertheless a great experience.
“At the edge of the Woods”. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches 300 gsm paper
“A path through Arlington Woods”. Watercolour on Arches 300 gsm paper, 14 inches by 10
“A glimpse of the pond in Arlington woods”. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches 300gsm paper.
My thanks to Alison, Philippa and everyone that made the day so enjoyable. Maybe a return visit to paint the woods in the Autumn would be a good chance to sample more of the great food from the Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen and enjoy more painting in Arlington Woods.
Happy Travelling
Brian
Larger and more impressionistic!
Hi Everybody
I have alway been interested in painting larger watercolours but only now have I really got round to giving it a go.
After the recently posted Salisbury Cathedral watercolour, shown again here, I have been painting a few larger more impressionistic watercolours either at 78 cms width or 95 cms width.
Salisbury Cathedral 75 by 25 cms on Arches 300 gsm paper
Here are the two new wide paintings , the first one on Saunders 600gsm paper which is very heavy and takes lots of water very well.
A Wide watercolour,78 by 20cms on 600gsm warecolour paper
The second was painted on heavy wallpaper lining paper and although I was sceptical if it would take watercolour at all it has turned out fine and the paint dried nicely on this fairly smooth paper.
Even wider 95 by 20 cms on Commercial lining paper about 200 gms.
This paper is many times lower in cost than watercolour rolls of paper and so I will try it again.
Both are as you see semi abstract Fen like scenes and I have been pleased with the interest shown in this style which is for me a bit of a departure from the norm!
This week i hope to be away painting the Bluebell woods in Sussex and this may also give me an opportunity for a really wide watercolour too. If so I will post it here soon
Any comments gratefully received!
Happy Travelling
Brian
The 2023 US Masters Golf at Augusta
Patrons watch the tee shot at the 12th A new watercolour sketch of The 11th and 12greens at Augusta.
It is that time of year again and all golfer’s thoughts turn to the Master’s Championship at Augusta in Georgia.
For me it would not be the same without yet another post of some of my watercolours of this wonderful venue, maybe the loveliest Golf Course in the World.
Who will win this year? Will Rory McIlroy manage it and become one of those very rare winners of all the Grand Slams of golf? Will it be someone new or maybe another win for Scotty Scheffler. There are so many great golfers competing anyone could win, but whoever it is it will be great weekend of Golf!!!
We won’t know until Sunday but in the mean time have look ay these watercolours and imagine you are there!
I will be avidly watching it unfold on the TV but for many thousands they will be able to be there. If you are one of those patrons that is just great, let us know how much you enjoyed it.
The iconic 12th hole and Ray’s creek
The 16th Par 3 Hole across the water
The Hogan Bridge
Impressionist sketch of the 12th Hole
Looking back from the 12th towards the 11th and Hogan’s bridge
Over the weekend I have painted a new sketch watercolour whilst watching the TV, and trying not to spill paint on the furniture at the same time! Its the one at the top.
Happy Golfing and Travelling
Brian
