Category Archives: Mourne Mountains
A new idea- Crazy or exciting?
Hi Everybody
Last week I posted about the beautiful Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland.
It started me thinking that a series of the same panorama for each season might be fun to paint and then I wondered, how about just doing one watercolour with all four seasons in the one painting!
Crazy or Exciting?
Well I decided to have a go today and here is the result, hot as they say , off the press!
It starts from left to right with summer first so that I could include some yachts sailing below a cobalt blue sky. Then comes Autumn with a softer ultramarine and cerulean blue cloudy sky before winter with dark skies and rain and snow landing on the Mourne’s highest peak, Slieve Donard and below it a colder sea foaming up on to the beautiful sandy beach. Lastly we are back to spring with big clouds in a cobalt sky.
I know it’s a bit weird but it was a lot of fine to try to paint and maybe you will like it.
I would love to get your comments.
I have popped it on to Artfinder in case someone really likes it!
I am now thinking of other scenes that might work with this idea so who knows you may see some more.
With our second jab due quite soon and half of the UK now vaccinated seeing friends and family and even some travel is becoming a reality, thank goodness.
It is a fantastic UK vaccine achievement which we all are very proud of and congratulate those who have made it happen – well done!
Stay well and safe
Brian
Four Seasons in one watercolour. Summer,Autumn, Winter and Spring Watercolour on Arches paper 54 cms by 25.
Summer
Autumn
Winter
Spring
The Mourne Mountains
Many many years ago when I lived in Northern Ireland a visit to County Down and the Mourne Mountains was always a treat, whether it was to go to the beautiful beaches, or to play golf at Royal County Down Golf Course or to wander down the Ards Peninsula and see Strangford Lough, no matter where the scenery was alway superb.
The gentle rolling hills, known as Drumlins are a characteristic of the soft and gentle countryside but with the promise in the distance of the Mourne Mountains rising above the busting seaside town of Newcastle.
If you have followed this blog you will have seen my watercolours that try to capture the amazing beauty of the wilder Antrim Coast but County Down is a greener, if that is possible, part of Northern Ireland
I have painted this area quite a lot over the years and so here are some of these watercolours that try to capture the Mourne Mountains.
From as far away as Belfast the mountains are visible even though they are over 30 miles away.
As you approach Dundrum the mountains become even clearer and view from near to Dundrum shows the broad extent of the landscape.
As you approach the mountains a visit to Murlough bay will give you fine views of the coast and the mountains
This famous nature reserve is a really great place to visit.
Here are a couple of watercolours painted from photos taken at that beach
I am indebted to Gerry Judge for allowing me to use two of his fine photos as the basis for the next two watercolours
Firstly the same general scene as above but now at sunset
And secondly an old derelict cottage in the heart of the Mountains
This next watercolour, painted many years ago, is the scene from near Hilltown and was used as a background by a well know Belfast Chef, Alex Greene, in the series on TV “The Great British Menu”. It was exciting to see my watercolour being used by him.
At the foot of the Mourne Mountains lies the town of Newcastle , a busting seaside resort and where the Simna river reaches the sea. Nearby is Tollymore Forest park a marvellous place to visit and to enjoy the woods and forest of the mountain. A walk there will take you to Foley’s Bridge , one of the many Game of Thrones ;coalitions in Northern Ireland.
Lastly here is another watercolour of the Mourne Mountains views painted quite a while ago.
I hope you have enjoyed this quick trip to the Mourners Mountains. If you have never been then do go there to enjoy the great hospitality and scenery of this ;lovely part of the UK.
Stay well and safe
Brian
Three New Watercolours – Cornwall, County Down and Northumberland
Hi Everybody
I am always on the lookout for interesting scenes to paint as watercolours and although most of my watercolours use photos that I have taken , occasionally I see a photo that I would like to have a go at painting too.
This has happened twice this week and with time available due to the lock down I was lucky enough to get the permission’s of the two photographers to paint these watercolours. I am indebted for their permissions.
The first one is of a small town in Cornwall, called St Clements, which is near Falmouth.
I saw the image on a blog that I always enjoy reading called Cornishbirdblog.
http://www.cornishbirdblog.com
Even if you don’t live in Cornwall, and I don’t, I would recommend it as it is always interesting to read.
So here is my version of a photo of St Clements and I do hope to visit there one day.
Watercolour of St Clements in Cornwall. 15 inches by 11 on Arches 300 gsm watercolour paper
The second one is of a place I do know well, The Mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland.
I have painted quite a few watercolours of the area before but an evening photo taken by Gerry Judge really caught my eye and so here is my watercolour interpretation of it.
You can see Gerry’s excellent photos at Gerry Judge Photography and I am very grateful for his permission to use the photo as a basic reference for this watercolour
The Mountains of Mourne from Murlough Bay at evening. Watercolour 22 inches by 14 on Saunders 300gsm watercolour paper
And lastly a watercolour from one of my own photographs, this time of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland where we enjoyed a short break a couple of years ago. I have tried again to capture that early evening scene of calm waters and an interesting sky.
Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland. Watercolour 22 inches by 14 on Arches 300 gsm watercolour paper.
With several more weeks of this current Lockdown still to go I hope to paint quite a few more watercolours
I hope you will enjoy these two anyway.
Stay well and safe
Regards
Brian
PS If you have a photo of a favourite place that you would like a watercolour of, please email me at
brian@brianwaterecolours.com
and send me the photo for an immediate quotation. Turnaround times are very quick, prices include shipping, and many people have been pleased with their new watercolour.
Sun, Sea and Sand!
Cefalu in Sicily
Hi Everyone,
Spring is just starting to make an appearance here in Kent in England.
As regular readers of this blog will know I like to paint watercolours from my photos of seascapes and so I thought a post bringing a few of my Seascapes together might help me look forward to the warmer and sunnier days to come.
Going through my paintings archive I discovered that there are many such paintings, too many to put here so I have just chosen some that I painted over the past few years. Most of the painting are 14 inches by 10 and painted on Arches 300gsm watercolour paper.
Mostly they are places I am familiar with but one or two fit into the category of place I would like to visit as they were gifts or commissions.
I hope you like them!
Brian
Fishing Boats at Orfordness Lighthouse
Bude in Cornwall
Balnakeil Strand at Durness in Scotland
A beach near Paphos in Cyprus
The beach at Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.
Sandalwood Bay in the North of Scotland
Vias Plage in the South of France
The Golf Course and Beach at Pine Cliffs in the Algarve in Portugal.
The Beach at Murlough Bay and the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland
Maybe I will do second post on the same theme soon but wherever you are enjoy your travels and the coming of Spring
Brian
Two weekends in May
Our travel recently has been a bit hectic and May has seen us spend two lovely weekends in two very different places.
First of all we spent a few days in Northern Ireland catching up with family and friends.
Some time too for touring around and just a few hours to create two watercolours.
Firstly we visited a very nice Farm shop and cafe in Hollywood called McKees, and from there we had a lovely view of Scrabo Tower and the Mourne mountains.
I could not resist trying to reproduce the scene in this watercolour.
Scrabo Tower and the Mourne Mountains.
Watercolour 14 inches by 12
Another day saw us travelling to Newcastle, right next door to the Mourne Mountains. Just north of Newcastle is Murlough Bay and in this nature reserve there are lovely walks that take you down to the sea. This watercolour is that view, the beach and the Mourne mountains sweeping down to the sea.
The Mourne Mountains from Murlough Bay.
Watercolour 14 inches by 12
With many more photos taken over the weekend I now have lots of ideas for more paintings, and an update to my Ulster guide book.
Just one week later we were off to the coast of Normandy in France with some friends. Our main aim was to view the Landing Beaches, Museums and Cemetries associated with the Normandy landings of June 1944. The invasion of France in 1944 heralded the final winning phase of the war in Europe which ended 70 years ago. The sacrifice and endeavour of the brave soldiers, sailors and airman can be felt as you walk and visit the sights in this area.
We managed to see a lot in a few days and enjoyed Normandy, it’s people, food, cider and scenery.
So just two watercolours so far but more to follow as we managed a visit to Honfleur as we travelled back to Calais and the Channel Tunnel.
From the beach at Arromanches you can still see the mannificent artifical harbour created in June 1944 and some of these colosal structures are shown in the painting.
The Beach at Arromanches
Watercolour 14 inches by 12
Inland just a few miles away is Bayeux, famous for the Tapestry but a really lovely town with a wonderful Cathedral.
The Mill Wheel in Bayeaux. Watercolour 14 inches by 12.
This mill wheel and the river are in the heart of Bayeux with a view across to the Cathedral.
If you ever can, do visit Normandy and the landing beaches. They are amazing memories of a crucial time in the ending of World War 2.
Happy travelling!
Brian
When you are on a roll!
Hi Everyone,
I had such nice comments about my last post, “A New Venture” and the guide book to the Cote d’Azur that I thought that I should follow this up quickly with the second book in the series.
This new book is about Ulster, the most northerly Province of Ireland and becomes number 2 in the series “Travels with a Brush”. I hope you will like this one too. It is dedicated to my Mother in Law, Sadie, who died last year and who loved this beautiful part of Ireland, especially the Antrim Coast which is the first Chapter of the book.
I am waiting for the book to appear on the Apple iBook store but for non iPad users there is a PDF version at the top of this post which can be viewed and downloaded.
Once again all comments would be most welcome as that will help me with updates and subsequent volumes in the series.
I hope you enjoy looking through it and if you haven’t been to this part of the world, put it into your future itineraries!
Happy travelling and painting
Brian Tucker
