Category Archives: Seascapes
Stormy on the Antrim Coast!
Stormy seas at Portballintrae. Watercolour 18 inches by 8. The sea was so white with the spume created by the 70 miles an hour winds!
A very nice few days in Northern Ireland , but accompanied by a fairly fierce storm meant our trips around beautiful Ulster were a little curtailed , but very enjoyable none the less.
Meeting up with family and friends was of course great and the storm did give a somewhat different view of the Antrim coast.
However intermingled with our trips there was a little time to paints some sketches and take a lot of photos to paint when back in the studio.
The header painting is of the storm raging at Portballintrae, which is a delightful sea side town not far from Portrush and The Giants Causeway, although the weather put paid to any thoughts of a visit to it’s amazing hexagonal rocks!
Nearby is Bushmills with it famous Whiskey Distillery, and as we drove from there to Portrush the sea spray was coming over the road across the 100 foot cliffs, very spectacular!
So here are my sketches of a few places we visited
Glenarm with it’s Castle , Barbican and the river running into the harbour is a very nice small seaside town, with a great Jewellery Shop (Steensons) to retreat into when the rain and wind arrive!
The Barbican of Glenarm Castle. Watercolour sketch 8 inches by 10.
The Genarm river and st Patricks Church in Glenarm.watercolour sketch 10 inches by 8
In a break in the weather I managed to invent an Antrim Coast sunset, as they are very often really spectacukar, one of my 15 minute sketches.
Just beyond Portrush on the Antrim Coast lies the really nice seaside town and popular holiday resort of Portstewart. Not as busy as Portrush but a really nice place to visit.
Just for fun I have included paintings of two my favourite scenes painted during previous visits, which are Ballycastle and the Mourne mountains near Newcastle. I have resisted including more!
Fair Head on the Antrim Coast Watercolour on Canvas 24 by 12 inches
The Mourne Mountains from Murlough Bay near Dundrum. 21 by 9.5 inches
I know I have said it before but if you have never visted the Antrim Coast or even Northern Ireland then do so, it is spectacular and well worth it for so many reasons from The Titanic Centre, the Game of Thrones locations, to the coasts, the people and the food!
Happy travelling
Brian
You can see more of my watercolours at http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
Have look, there may be places you love and that you have visited.
A few days in Delightful Devon
The Cary Arms at Babbacombe, watercolour 36 by 25 cms.
Hi Everbody
We have just had a few days on the very sunny South Devon coast, staying at the lovely Cary Arms Hotel in Babbacombe Bay.
South Devon has many lovely places to visit and one of our favourites is Dartmouth and the River Dart.
Time too for a few watercolours ,sketces and a formal watercolour.
We also ate in two very good restaurants whilst there plus in our Hotel where the food is good too!
In Torquay I would recommend Amici, an Italian restaurant in the heart of the town.
In Babbacombe we would highly recommend The Waddling Duck at Hamiltons, just superb and good value too.
The National Trust property of Coleton Fairacre is for us one of the best in the Country , featuring an Art Deco House and stunning gardens looking out over the sea. My next subject for a sketch!
Anyway here are few watercolours and sketches
The River Dart near Dittisham. “Greenways”, Agatha Christie’s former home can bee seen across the river. Watercolour 36 by 21 cms.
The view from our Terrace at The Cary Arms. Sketch 22 by 18 cms
Paignton Harbour in Devon.Sketch 22 by 18 cms
Brixham Harbour, sketch
If you know South Devon then I hope you will enjoy seeing these paintings. If you haven’t been then do go, you will enjoy the many charms of the lovely area of England.
Happy travelling to you all!
Brian
Have a look at my Watercolour shops too!
http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
and
http://www.artgallery.co.uk/ Brian Tucker
In and Around The Mourne Mountains of Northern Ireland
The Shimna River near Newcastle and the Mourne Mountains. Watercolour sketch 11 inches by 8.
We have just returned from a very nice long weekend in Northern Ireland visiting friends and family and admiring the scenery. Alas it wasn’t great weather but even so still some time for some paintings and watercolour sketches, mostly imagined in sunnier weather!
This first painting however was painted a couple of weeks ago during the Irish Open Golf which was held this year at Royal County Down Golf Club, nestled below Slieve Donard (2790 feet high) in The Mourne Mountains. This course is arguably considered to be one of the best, if not the best, golf course in the World!
The 18th at Royal County Down Golf Club Watercolour 21 inches by 10.
The scenery is great and this watercolour, painted from sketches made whilst watching the golf on TV shows the view from the 18th Tee toward the Clubhouse and the Slieve Donard Hotel.
In Tollymore Forest park , accessed from near Newcastle, County Down , you will find Foley Bridge on one of the many great paths through the Forest.
Foley bridge in Tollymore Forest park. Watercolour sketch 11 inches by 9
Beyond Slieve Donnard , in the Mourne’s, near the Hilltown Road, is Trassey Bridge with views toward Slieve Bernagh.
Trassey bridge crosses the River Trassey, a tributary of the Shimna River. Watercolour sketch 11 by 8 inches.
Near Dundrum is Murlough Bay, just North of Newcastle and here I have sketched Downshire bridge viewed from the North with views across to the Mourne Mountains, Slieve Donard on the left.
Dundrum has also a great Restaurant with Rooms, The Buck’s Head with Alex Greene as Chef and co owned with Bronagh McCarmick. We had a really terrific lunch there using local ingredients. I can highly recommend it if you are there, and only 35 minutes from Belfast.(www.thebucksheaddundrum.co.uk)
Downshire Bridge,a watercolour sketch 11 by 8 inches
From there it isn’t to far to St John’s Point and it’s tall Lighthouse, the second tallest in Ireland I believe. This was imagined in brighter weather as the mist was impenetrable that day!
St John’s Point Lighthouse. Watercolour sketch 11 by 8 inches
Wherever you go around the Mourne’s the views are spectacular and the Town of Newcastle is well worth a visit too with its great promenade by the sea and the River Shimna.
Northern ireland is a great place to visit with its wonderful scenery and so many attractions to see. If you havent been , get it on your list of places to go!
Happy Travelling
Brian
PS Don’t forget you can see some of these and many more Irish watercolours on my Blog , http://www.brianswatercolours.blog and also at my shops on http://www.Artfinder.com/brianswatercolours and http://www.Art Gallery.co.uk/briantucker.
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
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
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
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
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
Recent watercolours
Dawn at Leigh on Sea in Essex Watercolour 18 inches by 8
Hi Everybody
It is raining again!
During this dreary winter in Kent there have been quite a lot of opportunities to paint in the warmth of my studio!
Here are some recent works including one larger than usual watercolour.
Of course we did manage a trip to Madeira which was in a recent post which we really did enjoy as well.
Wast Water and Scafell in the Lake District Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
This scene is one of my favourites and has also been popular on Artfinder.
We love Provence and this bridge reminds me of so many great times there.
Pont de La Madame a la Martre in Provence. Watercolour sketch 10 inches by 9
And more locally –
Painted from a Victorian print this scene is of West Malling in Kent . Watercolour sketch 9 inches square, part of a Family History project.
A sketch of Mousehole in Cornwall from one of my photos of some years ago 12 inches by 10
Sunset in the Lake District. Watercolour15 inches by 10.
And lastly a recent watercolour,the largest that I have ever attempted.
This is of Salisbury Cathedral when the Meadows by the River Avon are flooded, as they do twice a year.
With thanks to Rob of Robert Franklin Photography for his permission to use his excellent image.
The watercolour is 40 inches by 12 , by some way the largest I have painted. The watercolour is painted on 600 gsm Arches paper for stability. Very exciting to produce!
Salisbury Meadows and Cathedral.
I hope eventally to produce some high quality smaller prints from this original watercolour.
So pretty busy of late and now looking forward to spring, some sunshine, and some outdoor painting.
Happy Travelling
Brian
Don’t forget if any of these images catches your eye some are available for sale on http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours.
Prices are reasonable and delivery fast!
