Category Archives: England
Places I would like to be – The Lake District of England.
Hi Everybody
As I sit here in continued lockdown and recall our many and varied travel plans that have all come to nothing, I remember how for the past few years we had planned a short break in the The Lake District of England. To cap it all we now have snow! , not a lot just a few inches but that is enough to cause some travel chaos here, not that we can go anywhere anyway!
Frustrated by not being able to go anywhere or even meet people I resorted this week to guide books and the web for inspiration of the English Lakes and so for the past three days I have painted four watercolours of some of the many places that we would love to visit in and around the area of Cumbria, with its magnificent scenery.
Maybe later this year or next we will be able to visit and enjoy the scenery at first hand.
The Lake District today lies entirely in Cumbria and is home to the highest peaks in England. It covers over 1200 square miles of mountains and lakes.
The highest peak is Scafell Pike at 3,209 feet and this first watercolour tries to capture Scafell Pike and Scafell and the lake before them called Wasdale. With around 20 lakes and many Fells and Peaks the Lake District area is a very popular destination for visitors, hikers, painters, photographers and all outdoor pursuits as well as for it’s good accommodation ,and great food, and a warm welcome.
Scafell and Scafell Pike with Wasdale lake in the foreground. Watercolour 13 inches by 9.5 on Arches Rough Watercolour paper. Available for purchase on Artfinder
My second watercolour is of the delightful small town of Ambleside which lies at the Northern end of Lake Windermere and is very famous for the “Bridge House”.
The 17th Century house, originally built to store produce from fields on the far side of the Stock Beck, is one of the most curious and often painted houses in the Lake District.
The Bridge House in Ambleside, a Pen and Wash Watercolour. 13 inches by 9.5 on Arches Rough watercolour paper. Available for purchase on Artfinder.com/Brianswatercolours
Other bridge scene in the Lake District, this time of Stockley Bridge in Borrowdale. This very old packhorse bridge is one of many in the Lkae District.
Stockley Pack Horse Bridge . 18th Century. Watercolour 14 inches by 10
My last watercolour, for now anyway, (there will be more when I can actually go there), is the view across Buttermere which is another popular watercolour artist’s view.
My inspiration here comes from photos and also a wonderful watercolour painting by Edward Wesson, an amazing 20th century English watercolorist who is an inspiration to myself and many artists.
Across Buttermere. Watercolour 9.5 by 13 inches on Arches Rough watercolour paper. Also available for sale on Artfinder
Lockdown has reminded us of how many beautiful places we have to visit in the UK and with International travel some way off, even though we have now had the Covid Vaccine, there will be many places to plan visits to over the next year.
Wherever you are stay safe and well and like us please look forward to travel in the future.
Best regards
Brian
The joy of Pen and Wash watercolours!
San Gimignano in Tuscany from one of my sketchbooks
Hi Everybody
I love to paint watercolours, and I have always been fascinated by this medium.
Whilst I get great pleasure trying to paint big and bold watercolours I often find myself returning to where I started , using a pen and wash technique.
The sheer pleasure of the pen marks casually laid on the paper which may or may not be important later on is such fun and then applying washes of watercolour over it in a not too rigorous edgy manner is very exhilarating.
Maybe I am easily pleased but this process, which has to be pretty speedy, has been the backbone of my watercolours for many years and I hope will continue to be so.
Pen and wash can be in my sketch books, or slightly more formally on Watercolour paper, I particularly like Arches watercolour blocks which are so great for use when travelling!
Let’s hope we can travel again soon though!
So here are some older and more recent Pen and Wash watercolours which I hope you will enjoy.
These first three were painted just this week from photos of previous visits and that is often how they happen. When I can in love to sketch on the spot but that is a luxury which I can’t do at present of course.
Two scenes for Yorkshire first
Staithes on the Yorkshire Coast
The village of Robin Hood’s Bay
And now a recent painting of Mousehole in Cornall and one of the River dart in Devon
Mosehole in Cornwall
Greenway Quay on the River Dart in Devon
A few on place in Provence
In St Paul de Vence
At The heart of Vence
Fayence
Seillans
And a quick trip into Spain and Portugal
Sintra
The Hotel Courtyard in Sevilla
Sevilla Cathedral
Salamanca
An finally , for now at least, a few of both Canterbury and York
Canterbury Cathedral from Mercery Lane
York Minster from the City Wall
The Shambles in York
I hope from these you can see the reason why I enjoy Pen and Wash so much. Immediate , Colourfull and fun to do!
Stay safe and well and maybe this year we may all get to travel again.
Brian
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
Kent – The Garden of England 3, and a quick trip into East Sussex
In Parts 1 and 2 of this series of Posts about Kent we explored the countryside of Kent and some great places visit.
In Part 3 , the final one of this series we will return to some of the coast that we didn’t see in Part 1.
As an artist I am much drawn, excuse the pun, to Faversham and the marshes around that area ,especially Oare and the Creeks there.
So let us start in Faversham at Standard Quay with its sheds, shops, boats and barges.
A threatening storm at high tide.Faversham,Standard Quay. Watercolor 16 by 12inches
The rejuvenation of the old town of Faversham has made this very old port an attractive place to visit too.
Here is sketch of the Town centre on market day
Faversham, Market Day. Watercolour pen and wash 10 by 9 inches
From Faversham its is quite nearby to go to Oare and then take the road out to Harty Ferry on the Saxon Shore Way.
A ferry used to go from there across to the Isle of Sheppey, but alas no more. A walk East along the Saxon Shore way will bring you to the entrance to Oare creek with it boats ,barges and boatyard.
The boatyard at Oare Creek. Watercolour 16 by 12 inches.
If you had travelled to the opposite bank from Faversham the scene is a little different and there, at Hollowshore there is a great pub for a drink and good food, “The Shipwrights Arms”.
Barge at Hollowshore. 14 by 10 inches
Back in Oare the view along the Creek across the marshes offers yet another view of the area.
Oare Creek. Watercolour 20 by 16 inches
So lets move on along the coast to Whitstable and a sketch of the harbour there. Again lots of interesting shops and walks along the shore at Whitstable, nowadays a very popular town to visit , especially for its Beer Festival and abundant seafood, in particular the famous Whitstable Oysters.
Sketch of Whitstable harbour and Fishermens sheds. 10 by 9 inches.
Across Kent to East Sussex finds you able to visit The Seven Sisters chalk cliffs and this well known view is captured on a cold winters day in this watercolour.
The Seven Sisters Cliff in East Sussex. Watercolour 14 by 10 inches
Hastings is nearby with the fishing boats of on the “Stad”
Fishing Boats at Hastings. Watercolour 16 by 12 inches
Back towards Kent but still in East Sussex is the wonderfully quaint town of Rye
Rye skyline from Romney marsh. Watercolour 14 by 8 inches
In Rye the Landgate entrance to the Town. Watercolour 14 by 10 inches
As we come to the end of this series of views of Kent and East Sussex it would be an omission to not include some Bluebells, probably the flower of Kent, and beautiful in the spring.
Here are two watercolours of them
Bluebell woods. 16 by 12 inches
Bluebells near Hawkhurst. Watercolour 14 by 10 inches
Returning nearer to our home town these two watercolours of Barming’s St Margaret’s Church are somehow very typical of Kent scenes in summer and in the snow.
Poppies in the fields near St Margaret’s Church Watercolour 11 by 7 inches
Evening snow at St Margarets Church. Watercolour 11 by 7 inches
A finally home to West Malling
Two quick sketches of our home town with it many pubs, restaurants and shops.
In West Malling high Street Sketch 9 by 7 inches
West Malling High Street and St Mary the Virgin Church. 9 by 7 inch sketch.
I hope you have enjoyed these views of Kent through my watercolours. They have all been great fun to create.
I have recently published on iBooks a Book contains many of these watercolours and it is FREE as a download.
Look for it on Apple iBooks. It can be purchased also from Peecho as a hardback book . You can also download
a pdf version of the new book here.
Travels with a Brush Kent Vol 3 V2 1
Be safe and happy wherever you are.
Brian
Kent – The Garden of England Part 1
Hi Everybody wherever you may be.
All this extra time at home this year has made me realise how fortunate we are to live in the very beautiful County of Kent in the South East of England
So I thought maybe a few posts of some old and new Kentish scenes would hopefully be interesting to my readers.
It isn’t a tour exactly but a rather haphazard wandering of our very fine piece of England. Due to the large number of places(and watercolours!) I would like to include this post will come in Three parts and this is thus Part 1
I was born In Kent rather a long time ago and more by luck than judgement we can back to live in Kent in the 1970’s. It’s a decision that has worked out well for us as a family and it has given us all the benefits of this lovely part of the UK and it’s proximity to Europe too.
Historically Kent has had a big part to play in the development of the UK and this is very true of our first stopping place, Canterbury.
Canterbury is dominated by the magnificent Cathedral and it’s history, especially that of Thomas a Beckett and the Canterbury tales by Chaucer.
It can be seen from all around the City and here are two watercolour sketches, one of the Cathedral and one of St Augustines Abbey.
Canterbury Cathedral from Mercery Lane. Watercolour sketch
St Augustines Abbey in Canterbury. Watercolour sketch
It is only a few miles to travel to the North Coast of Kent from Canterbury and from Whitstable there is a long range view toward Reculver,a ruin today but once Roman fort and then an Abbey.
Reculer on the North Kent Coast Water 12 by 10 anches
Sunset at Margate. Watercolour 14 inches by 10
Continuing round the Isle of Thanet brings you to Broadstairs and the white cliffs coast that stretches all to way to Sussex. Here the beaches are sand but as you travel further west the sand changes to shingle.
Broadstairs – Viking Bay. Watercolour 16 inches by 12
Kites flying at Botany Bay, near Broadstairs. Watercolour 14 anches by 10
Toward Dover is the North Foreland Lighthouse on top of the cliffs and in Dover itself the view of the Castle from the Harbour spit is gréât.
North Foreland Lighthouse.Watercolour 14 by 10 anches
Dover Castle from the Harbour. Watercolour
From Dover travelling west now you come to Folkestone and Hythe and then Hastings. So here to finish Part 1 are few watercolours of Hythe and Hastings.
Fishing boats at Hythe in Kent. One of my first ever watercolours ,over 20 years ago!
Fishing boats on the Stad at Hastings
More fishing boats at Hastings
Regards
Back in Kent ,Lockdown easing and able to travel around!
Hi Everybody
After our whirlwind virtual visits to a load of places around the world here we are back in Kent and enjoying truly wonderful weather and some easing of lockdown.
We are back to golf and can travel about, but staying apart and being careful too!
So this past week I have been painting watercolours of Kent and one of Pinmill too.
It is nice to be painting locally again and enjoying our own lovely scenery and towns.
As readers will know I am very keen on Thames Barges and so here are four watercolours with Barges as their theme. Two of these are at Faversham and the third is near Oare in Kent.
Early evening in Faversham
Boats near Oare in Kent
Barges at Standard Quay in Faversham
Another favourite place to go and paint is of course Pin Mill in Suffolk where the barges and boats near to the Butt and Oyster Pub are a key part of the scene.
Boats and Barges at the Butt and Oyster in Pinmill.
At this time of year, even a little earlier, if possible, a day at Scotney Castle in Kent with its wonderfull old ruined castle and stunning Azaleas and Rhododendrons is always enjoyable. We didn’t make it there this year so the watercolour is a reminder to us to visit there again when we can.
Cloudy spring day at Scotney Castle
And lastly for now, two very quick sketches of our home town of West Malling. It will be nice to see the shops, cafes,pubs and restaurants reopen soon!
Enjoy any travel you can do!
Brian
Buildings in West Malling High Street. Sketch book pen and wash.
Buildings and The Parish Church in West Malling. Sketch book pen and wash.
My Virtual Travel Journal – Part 1 -“The first 5 weeks in Lockdown”
I expect like me you are just wishing you could go somewhere, ANYWHERE I hear you say!
Well those days will return, but I have been travelling around the Globe quite a bit since the lockdown started.
It is of course Virtual, but by painting watercolours of various place I can almost escape there for a while. By the time I have trawled through old photos to find the one I want to paint the memories of these places come flooding back and the concentration of painting soon transports me to those far away places.
I have been posting these paintings recently so not many new ones but I thought I could put them together as a sort of Journal if only for my own amusement, and I hope yours too!
It all stared sitting in the garden in the lovely April sunshine thinking of all the gardening I should be doing, not to mention sorting out the shed, garage,study etc etc.
A corner of the garden
But soon the travel bug took over.
I had been worrying about a delivery of a variant of this watercolour of Porto in Portugal
to a customer in Toronto when I realised that I had not been to Toronto for a very long time and so the idea of a Skyline painting seemed the thing to do. Don’t ask why, even I don’t know!
Toronto Skyline
One thing leads to another and so suddenly I found myself seeing once again the Skyline of Singapore.
Singapore
We had stayed in the Ritz Carlton there the last time we were there and this is the skyline from near there. What a City Singapore is! I can even taste a spectacular meal we ate one evening there, in very authentic restaurant, of Beef in Black Bean sauce and Beef Rendang!
The trip back to the UK included a quick diversion to Chateau Chalon in the Jura in France. (That thanks to watching Rick Stein on TV). A wonderful area of that equally wonderful country with stunning ,and rather special Wine!
Chateau Chalon in the Jura region of France
And just to make sure the days were fully filled up, a return visit to Amsterdam, another great place to be.
But soon I was back in the UK with view of the Countryside in Kent that I can’t now visit and another view across the Oxfordshire countryside as the sun bursts through.
The Kentish Countryside
The sun breaking through the clouds
Being back in the UK brought on another attack of the travel bug and a long weekend in Tuscany seemed just the right thing to do. So after a brief stop in Florence to look at the the house located on the Ponte Vecchio —
—I drove into the heart of Tuscany. It has been warm here in Kent and so the warmth of Tuscany seemed just so good.
Basing ourselves near to San Gimignano, as we have done before, gave me some time to enjoy painting some watercolours, first of Piazza della Cisterna in the heart of San Gimignano and then the view from San Gimignano across the wonderful Tuscan landscape.
Piazza dell Cisterna in San Gimignano.
Tuscany
Luckily there was time to return to Lucca. A real gem of a City in Tuscany and a painters paradise!
In the Heart of Lucca in Tuscany
And so the first 5 weeks of Lockdown have let me cover a lot of miles without even stepping outside!
I hope that this Lockdown won’t go on too much longer but if it does my Virtual bags will have to be repacked and put into us again.
Happy Virtual Travelling Everybody!
Stay safe and well too.
Brian
Two Watercolours – Different styles
Hi Everybody
Thanks for reading my Blog posts!
This post has just two watercolours, but ~I hope you like the increased frequency of my posts during the Worldwide Pandemic.
One is a pen and wash sketch of some houses located right on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence and which is just 10 inches by 7 and another which is much larger at 22 inches by 16.
The Ponte Vecchio is a very unique bridge still retaining the style common in the Middle Ages where houses were built right across the bridges in major European cities.
Very few remain and the Ponte Vecchio is probably the best example today.
Pen and wash is a favourite way for me to paint and usually they are, painted in my sketchbook, this painting is no exception.
Houses on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence.Pen and wash sketch 10 inches by 7, on Fabriano paper.However I also like the challenge of larger watercolours, with no pen involved, and this scene is of a view across the Oxfordshire countryside as the sun breaks through the clouds.
“Shafts of Sunlight.” Watercolour 22 inches by 16 on Arches 140lb NOT watercolour paper.
With the larger painting multiple washes are employed compared to fewer on the sketch of course.
I have developed this style of painting since spending a week last year with the wonderful watercolour painter Herman Pekel and I am very grateful for his help with my technique. Not quite up to his standard through!
We met at Big Sky Arts at The White House Hotel in Norfolk in 2019 , a great location for a really superb watercolour course.
Anyway stay safe and keep well
I will be back to the easel!
Brian
Spring is really arriving!
Hi Everybody
Although we can’t tour around the beautiful County of Kent at present, the Spring is really arriving fast .
We are currently having the most lovely weather and normally I would be off taking photos of the Kent countryside so that back at home I could paint some watercolours of the scenes.
Its fun to paint on location as well but of course that too isn’t possible in the current situation as we sensibly stay home and try to help limit the spread of this horrible virus.
So a quick whizz through some photos and with a bit of artistic licence I can be somewhere in Kent with the Oast houses, Rapeseed growing in the fields and a few poppies too.
So here is today’s watercolour, trying to capture that scene. It is out there somewhere!
I hope you like it.
Oast Houses and Rapeseed fields in Kent. Spring has sprung! Watercolour 16 inches by 12 on Arches Cold Pressed paper.
If the weather is nice with you, enjoy it too.
Stay safe
Brian
A walk in the woods
Hi Everybody
During these days of being at home I am reminded that I had planned soon to go with a group of painters, under the guidance of Alison Cotton, to paint some watercolours in Arlington Bluebell woods near Polegate in East Sussex.
I had been looking forward to the visit, but then had to cancel to Go on a golf trip with friends to the South Of France,which is naturally now not going to happen. Now of course a Watercolour outing like this really no longer possible, at least for this year. Let’s hope I can get there next spring!
Arlington Woods are very famous for their wonderful displays of Bluebells. This, the most English of wild flowers is a wonderful shade of violety blue and has heady and very strong scent. They are very common in Kent and Sussex and have featured in my watercolours before. One of those is also reproduced below.
So today I have painted this watercolour of Arlington Woods which I hope you will enjoy. The watercolour is 16 inches by 9 and is painted on Arches NOT watercolour paper.
This is my favourite paper as it is very nice to paint on and in this case I have used a block of glued edge paper which is also very good for travelling when I can!
Arlington Woods in East Sussex
I hope you enjoy this painting and like me get a chance one day to visit this beautiful area of the English countryside.
The second watercolour was painted a couple of years ago and is of a small pond and wood near to Hawkhurst in Kent.
Stay safe
Brian
Bluebells in the woods near Hawkhurst in Kent.
