Category Archives: Paintings from our travels
Revisiting the stunning Côte d’Azur
Hi Everybody
For many years we have loved visiting the Cote d’Azur in Southern France.
This year was no exception and so we have now returned from a great family holiday in a fine house near Mougins, not far from Cannes.
The weather was great and although it is a very busy time of year in that area we had a really great holiday.
And a little time to paint some new watercolours of the area!
This year we travelled by car over a few days to Mougins, enjoying the French scenery on the way, and on the way back the great scenery of the Alps on route to Grenoble.
On the way we paused at at Castle Mornas, a magnificent castle high above the Rhone.
Castle Mornas in Provence. Watercolour sketch 10 inches by 8
Near Orange I spied this harvest scene and so this sketch resulted of the harvest.
Later on in our holiday this sketch became the basis for larger watercolour of a Provence harvest scene
Harvest in Provence, sketch , 10 inches by 8.
Provence village at harvest time. Watercolour 18 inches by 12 on Arches 300gsm paper.
Mougins, near where we stayed is a very pretty village of winding streets and great restaurants, always worth a visit if you are nearby. Le Petit Fouet restaurant is to be recommended as is Rita in the lower town.
Towards Mougins, a watercolour sketch 10 inches by 8
Mougins , a sketch from a previous visit, 10 by 8 inches
One evening we had a great dinner in La Farigoulette Restaurant in Fayence. It is right at the top of the town and from there the views are wonderful. Here is sketch of that view with some of the many rooftops of this “perched” Provence Town.
The rooftops of Fayence. Watercolour sketch, 10 by 9 inches
Near Mougins is Cannes, and this watercolour tries to capture the scene of the Croisette there and the Esterel mountains in the distance. We love the drive from Cannes through la Napoule to Agay along the beautiful Esterel coast, one of the great Coastal drives in the World
An lately here isa watercolour of the lovely harbour at Cannes
Cannes and the Esterel Mountains. Watercolour 18 inches by 12 on Arches Watercolour paper.
And lastly here is a watercolour of Cannes Harbour with the colourful boats, and the old town of Le Suquet with its Castle and the Church of Notre Dame d’Esperance.
Cannes Harbour. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches watercolour paper
So home with many more photos to paint of our great holiday.
Happy travelling
Brian
PS
Don’t forget to look at my watercolour shops at
http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolour , or at
where many of my watercolours are for sale.
New watercolours while the sun shines in England!
Hi everybody
I have managed recently to produce some new watercolours, some of which are in exhibitions and others for friends or just for the pleasure of painting them. A few are copies of recent commissions which I have really enjoyed painting, and receiving the very generous responses from their new owners.
Paintings completed during our South East Open Studios event at “The Drawing Room” Gallery in West Malling.
Six local artist were exhibiting for all of June and we were delighted to welcome vistors and friends to the Gallery. Some sales were made as well I am pleased to say.
We each took turns to produce paintings in the shop front window which was a lot if fun. Here are the ones that I produced.
Dawn sky at Broadstairs in Kent
Godrevy Island in Cornwall
The Landgate in Rye in Kent
A very quick “en plein air” sketch of West Malling
Some recent Commissions
Three scenes of Lucca and the Tuscan countrysde
And one of Bosham in West Sussex
Here are a few recent watercolours painted just for the sheer pleasure of doing them.
Cape Cornwall
Eillean Donan Castle in Scotland
St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall
Storm clouds forming over Irish Cottages
I painted this Kent sunset for a local art club competition, but then found out the subject was “Birds”, so I added a flock of Lapwings!
I hope you will enjoy having a look at these recent watercolours and remember some are for sale on http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
Happy Travelling
Brian
A Warm, Sunny Week in Mallorca
Porto Petro Bay
Watercolour and Ink sketch 10 inches by 8
Hi Everybody
We have just enjoyed a lovely week of sun, great food and wine in the beautiful Spanish Island of Mallorca.
We stayed in the south east of the Island in a great resort called IKOS Porto Petro, only a very short distance from the town and harbour of Porto Petro. The flowers, especially the Bourgainvillea were so stunning, the sea so blue and everybody was so friendly too.
Luckily it provided a great opportunity to paint some watercolours, mainly in my sketch book, of the local area and towns nearby.
One of Mallorca’s most famous, but tiny and very picturesque fishing villages is Cala Figuera and it is frankly a painters paradise!
Here are two watercolours of the the little harbour with it’s unique boat moorings and boat lock ups gathered around a tiny cove.
I have more plans for larger watercolours of this and other places.
So quiet on such a busy coast with cafes and restaurants and lovely views.
Looking Down on to Cala Figuera. Watercolour and Ink sketch 10 inches by 8
Fishing Boats in Cala Figuera Village.
Watercolour and Ink sketch 10 inches by 8
Another cove near Cala d’Or gives more views of this delightful rugged coast and it’s many bays and inlets.
Near Cala d’Or,
Watercolour with Ink , 16 inches by 12 on Arches paper.
Porto Petro has small bays near to the port , this is Sa Torre, where swimming and boating create a lovely scene.
Sa Torre Bay near Porto Petro.
Watercolour and ink sketch 10 inches by 8.
From IKOS hotel the path leads round the coast to S Torre giving glimpses of the bay and beach.
Whilst in the area we also visited the lovely town of Satanyi where a wonderful market is held every Saturday and Wednesday. Well worth a visit .
This sketch only shows the tiniest fragment of this huge market which fills all the Town Centre!
Santanyi on Market Day
Watercolour and Ink sketch 10 inches by 8
So we had a very nice time in Mallorca , and it was so nice to be able to relax by the pools, paint and generally enjoy ourselves.
Happy travelling
Brian
SOUTH EAST OPEN STUDIOS 2024
Hi Everybody
From June 1st to the 30th the South East Open Studios Events are taking place in many venues and galleries around the South East Of England.
I and delighted that I will, along with 5 other artists, be exhibiting and demonstrating my watercolours in the The Drawing Room gallery in West Malling in Kent .
The address is
The Drawing Rooms,
58 High Street
West Malling ,
Kent ME19 6LU
Open most days from 10 to 4 pm.
what3words ://toward.papers.formal
We would all be delighted to see you there and on Tuesdays and Fridays from the 11th June I will be painting watercolours during the morning as demonstrations.
We all hope to see you there and we hope you will enjoy these exhibitions of our artworks.
You can download the whole SEOS Directory by searching for SEOS.ART.ORG
Thanks for reading this and maybe visiting!
Here are couple of my artworks that will be on display
Standard Quay at Faversham
Bosham Sunset
April, it’s The Masters Golf!
From the 12th looking back to the 11th
Every year I love to watch The Masters Golf Tournament from Augusta in The State of Georgia.
This year it is very exciting with the weather making the course very difficult.
This has made it a great spectacle and here on Sunday the outcome is far from certain.
Anyway here are a selection of some watercolours of the beautiful course painted over a number of years.
I hope you too enjoy the golf , no matter who eventually gets to put on the famous Green Jacket!
Happy golfing!
Brian
Towards the 12%th green
The bridge on the 12th
Sketch of the 12th green
The bridge and green at the 12th
Exhibitions and Dates for your Diary
Hi All
i am delighted to let you know that I am now regularly exhibiting my watercolours , and even selling the odd one, at a lovely Gallery in West Malling In Kent. It is called “The Drawing Rooms” and is in West Malling High Street in Kent in the UK.
Currently I have seven watercolours on display there together with some prints and some are shown in the header photo of this post.
It is well worth a visit if you are in the area as it has many great things on display and for sale .
In June this Gallery will be hosting a few artists for the SEOS (South East Open Studios) events for the whole month and I and some others will be exhibiting and demonstrating at various times which we will give more details of nearer the time.
I am also pleased to let you know that from the 3rd till the end of April I will be holding a solo exhibition of my watercolours at The Cranbrook Library in Cranbrook in Kent.
I am very pleased that they have offered me this solo exhibition opportunity and there will be around 20 of my watercolours on display and for sale. All will be framed and ready to hang so I hope if you have the time if you are around the area to pop in and see the Exhibition.
Exhibiting and doing demonstrations has become exciting thing for me to be doing and I hope it shows that my watercolours have progressed a little over the years.
Thanks for your time, maybe I will see you at one of these venues.
Brian
The addresses of these two venues are
The Drawing Rooms
58 High Street
West Malling
Kent
ME19 6LU
What3Words ///starts.expert.handy
Cranbrook Library
Carriers Road
Cranbrook
Kent
TN17 3JT
What3Words ///spoil. Isits.haystack
Sun, Cyclones and a Great Holiday in Mauritius!
A Mauritian Sailing Boat at Sunset
We have stayed at The Shangi-La Le Touessrok on the East coast of Mauritius before and it is always a great place to be when the weather is cold and stormy in the UK.
This recent trip was no exception , even though we arrived at the end of one Cyclone and then another smaller on came along too. However that didn’t cause us any issues and the warm beautiful beaches and the lovely golf course at Ile Aux Cerf made every day a very warm and delightful experience. With temperatures well over 30C dipping in and out of the sea and the fabulous beach side pool was just the thing we needed in January!
Time too for some sketching, which is quite tricky in such heat, but it is fun to to be sitting on a sunbed juggling the sketchbook, paints and brushes. I use a 11 inch by 10 inch format 300 gsm sketchbook when travelling, and these watercolours were in Volume 13 of my “Travels with Brush” books!
So here are the very quick watercolour sketches done during the time we were there, some on the spot and some from photos taken and a couple from photos from previous visits to the resort.
Mauritius is a great and very friendly Island to visit. Nestled in the Indian Ocean, it is a long way from the UK but well worth the journey for the warm weather and relaxing way of life.
Happy Travelling
Brian
Happy Hour at the Beach bar!
Towards the Reef
Boats and Mountains
Sailing at sunset
Fishing Boats
Turquoise Sea and Surf
The End of 2023 , and a Happy New Year for 2024
Salisbury Cathedral
Hi Everybody
2023 has been a pretty busy year for my watercolour painting.
With over 90 watercolours and sketches completed and quite a few new destinations explored I have had a lot of fun. Lucky I am retired!
I hope that 2024 will be as good for my painting and rather better from some personal issues. Maybe, just, maybe a bit more peaceful across the World as well.
It would be too long a post to cover them all so I have selected some to reprise for this post.
It has been a good yoear too as I have been lucky enough to have some watercolours in a few exhibitions here in Kent, and whilst sales haven’t been high it is nevertheless very rewarding to know others are , hopefully , enjoying my work. On line sales have been low too, probably as a result if the current economic situations.
So here are a selection of this past years effirts, many have been on the posts before but gathered together this way may be interesting for you to see.
Studio and larger Watercolours
Kent
Lake District Buttermere
Fair Head
Mournes from Murlough Bay
The Regatta
Leigh on sea dawn
Scotney Castle
Rye from the Marshes
Bluebell Woods
Bluebell Woods
Antibes
Drôme le Provencal
Lake Windermere
In The Lake District
Pin Mill 64 by 30
Sketches and Pen and Wash Watercolours
Mousehole
West Malling 1890
Augusta the 12th
Provence Pont Madame
In the Peak District
Peak District
Coombesgate Bay Devon
Semi abstract and very large Watercolours
Bamburgh Castle
Irish cottages by the sea
The Lighthouse 80 by 20 cms
Fens, 80 by20 cms
The Shore
The Mourne Mountains
Dawn
The Beach
Bamburg Castle Dawn
We are looking forward to 2024 and with some further a field travels planned I hope there will be lots of opportunities for more painting and Blog Posts too.
I have also been asked to do a few demonstarions to painting groups and I now feel confident enough to take on these skighlty daunting tasks. Painting and talking about the orocess to other very competenet artusts will be n exciting challenge.
in April I will be mounting a month ling solo show of my Paintings at aLibrary in Crambrookin Kent and I am really looking forward to that, and I hope to continue to exhilit at some local Galleries. What fun!
The past year also saw me try painting some semi abstract watercolours and I plan to continue with more of these from time to time.
Large ,over one metre, watercolours are tricky but very exciting as the speed of the work has to be quite high, watch this space for some more
In the mean time Best Wishes for 2024
Happy Travelling
Brian
Buying my Watercolours
Most available watercolours can be seen on http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
Some are also for sale on http://www.artgallery.com
In Kent in the UK some watercolours and prints are being exhibited and are for sale at “The Drawing Room Gallery” in West Malling and at The Creek Gallery in Faversham.
Or email me and I can advise how to purchase anything you see if it is still available and of course Commissions can n be made through Artfinder too!
Brian
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
