Category Archives: The Cote d’Azur
Return to The Côte d’Azur!
The Bay of Cannes , a quick sketch 27 by 25 cms
There is no doubt that we love The Côte d’Azur.
The warmth, the scenery, the great wines and food and the people make this one of the finest parts of France to visit at any time in the year but in the summer it is glorious, if a bit busy!
We spent some time in a lovely house at Les Adrets d’Esterel with a magniificent view o the Bay of Cannes to admire both by day and night as the lights of Cannes shimmer.
And time to paint some new watercolours of the region and a couple during journey there.
I hope you will enjoy seeing them and if you know the area, recognise the views, or if you haven’t visited the Côte d’Azur then do put it on your bucket list!
First the view of the Bay of Cannes on a hot summers day. The Iles de Lerin are visible just off the coast.
The Bay of Cannes from Les Adrets. Watercolour 46 by 15 cms
This formal painting painted “en plain air” followed on from a sketch shown at the head of this post.
During July and August Cannes holds an International Fireworks competition and so I have attempted a watercolour of the fireworks finale to just try to capture the moment.
On our journey we passed some intesting parts of Provence and so here are few sketches captured first as a photo of those scenes, but with a lot of artistic licence as to the time of year!
A village with lavender in Provence.
A bridge near Castellane in Provence
Chapelle Philomena de Montague near Gap in Provence
Around the Côte d’Azur there are many great places to visit
In particular we love Antibes and also Vence.
Vence is very close to St Paul de Vence which has become very touristy alas, but Vence is a delightful old town, now being much restored and it has many quaint streets and restaurants in the old town.
The old town of Vence
Antibes
Cap d’Antibes
Further inland is the fine village of Cotinac, famous for it’s markets.
Near to Cannes and are the villages of Fayence, Sellians and Callian , all very well with visiting and nearby is Lac de Saint Cassein with it’s great water sporting facilities.
Here also is a new sketch of Tourrettes sur Loup,an amazing place to wander around. Just one of the many perched Villages of the area.
Tourrettes Sur Loup
To see more of my watercolours of Provence and the Côte d’Azur download my guide book which can be found on the Header page of this blog.
And please do visit http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours where a number of my Provence paintings can be purchased.
Happy travelling
Brian
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.
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
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!
Return to the Cote d’Azur! Great!
Mandelieu La Napoule on the Cote d’Azur
Hi Everybody
After what seems far to long, due to you know what, we have just returned from a lovely holiday in France with much of our time spent back on the fabulous Cote d’Azur.
Driving through France in June in very hot weather was very beautiful with the Flowers, Lavender fields, Countryside and Mountains all sparkling in the Summer Sun.
Watercolour sketch of the Pyramid in Vienne.
Overnight in Vienne , about 10 miles south of Lyon, was an opportunity to eat in a local Restaurant ,Le Bar a Vins des Saveurs which was very enjoyable and worth seeking out. It is near the Roman Pyramid , quite spectacular ,a Roman column in a town of many Roman ruins.
Market day at a town in Isere. Watercolour sketch
From Vienne we set off for The Cote d’Azur and on the way passed many fields of lavender and the hills and farms of the Rhone Valley
Here are two larger watercolours of that route
Lavender Farm near Orange. Watercolour 15 inches by 10
Lavender Farm in Provence. Watercolour 15 inches by 10.
Our destination was Miramar, just outside Theoule on the Esterel coast and about 12 miles from Cannes.
This is the view from our terrace of the bay at Miramar, tranquil sea, and the red rocks so prominent on this part of the coast. And hot too, every day over 30 C!
We love to travel on this spectacular coast road and this next painting is of the beach at Agay, quite near to San Raphael. Hot again!
Enjoying the Beach at Agay
It would really not be a visit to the Cote d”Azur for us without wandering around Antibes. This lovely old, yet busy, coastal town is a great place to wander.
The view of Antibes from the nearby bay is a very famous one painted by me and many others over the years. This is a new version.
Antibes with the mountains to the North. Watercololour 15 inches by 10.
This little Antibes street caught my eye as we walked around.
A side street in old Antibes, sketch 7 inches by 9.
We moved for a few days to new accommodation near Mougins, another pretty hill village north of Cannes. From there the view of the mountains is great, here is quick sketch of the scene from the walls of Mougins.
toward the mountains from Mougins. sketch, 10 inches by 8
The centre of Mougins with it’s many restaurants, cafes and houses is a delight to wander around. Here is sketch from a welcome seat in the shade
The main square in Mougins. Watercolour sketch.
One of our favourite places in the area north of Mougins is the spectacular hill village of Gourdon. Small but always worth a visit. This is a watercolour from a few years ago which gives an impression of the position of this amazing perched village.
Gourdon, a watercolour sketch from 2018. 20 by 9 inches.
Up in the mountains this cottage farm gave me an idea for quick sketch of the typical Provence scene
Whilst at Mougins we played some golf , even though it was very hot!. From the Course the view of the houses and hills nearby, gives, I hope and idea of the local scenery.
The countryside and houses around Mouans – Sartoux.
Our return journey to the UK was via the lovely lake side town of Aix les Bains and there the beautiful Lac de Bourget. From a boat trip on the lake this watercolour seemed appropriate for the final watercolour for this post.
Lac de Bourget at Aix Les Bains. Watercolour 18 inches by 9. Abbaye de Hautcombe in the foreground.
Of course I have come home with many photos and ideas for more watercolours of France and our great holiday. I will post those when I have managed to do a few more.
We will never tire of the Cote d’Azur, one the world’s most wonderful holiday destinations. If you know it well I hope these will be a reminder of it, if you haven’t been there, then GO!
Happy travelling
Brian
The Heat and Beauty of the Cote d’Azur
Fayence ,the view from Le Moulin de la Camandoule
When the sea sparkles on the Côte d’Azur you can tell somehow before you go out that it is HOT. And it certainly was on our recent visit to La Napoule, 37 Celsius in fact most days. Nice to be in a air conditioned hotel and have great air conditioned car too!
However it was a lovely as ever and although just a short trip, there was time in the late afternoons for a few quick Pen and Wash watercolours.
This style works for me on travel and provides some ideas for large watercolours when home in the studio. In fact the next post will be one of these as a larger artwork.
La Napoule is a very nice place to stay and the large Pullman Hotel was very comfortable with a delightful beach to cool off at with a dip in the warm Mediterranean waters.
During our stay there we visited our two most favourite restaurants, both in Fayence; “Le Moulin de la Camandoule” and “Le Table d’Yves”. These are exceptional places to eat at, and both have lovely views of Fayence. Great dinner too with friends at “Freres de la Baie” in Theoule and “Le Brocherie” in La Napoule
So here are the Pen and Ink watercolours, all about 11 by 8 inches but this time painted on Fabriano 300gsm Hot Pressed watercolour paper, as this paper is very nice to use for pen and wash.
I hope you will enjoy them and also that you will be able to spend some time one day on the beautiful Esterel Coast and around the Côte d’Azur
Happy Travelling
Brian
The Castle at La Napoule
The Market in the Centre of old Antibes
Iles St Marguerite. Yachts sailing ,seen through the zoom lens!
A beach at La Napoule.
Season’s Greetings
Winter at Horsmonden in Kent Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches 300 gsm watercolour paper.
If you are regular viewer of this site then my thanks for your continued visits, comments and likes.
If you are new here then you are most welcome and I hope you will find some watercolours that interest you.
It has been a busy year with a fair amount of travel to many lovely places and I hope that the Posts that have resulted from these travels have been of interest to you all.
Our visits to South Africa, Tenerife, France, Portugal, Devon and around our lovely County of Kent have given me many opportunities to paint and sketch, and to meet other artists too.
We hope to travel quite widely in the New Year and especially our planned Rhine river cruise at the end of the summer will take us to many new places in Europe and the opportunity to paint some watercolours as I go.
To end the Year I have included above this winter scene of Horsmonden in Kent, which I have just finished painting today. Although we haven’t had any snow as yet, it seems seasonal to paint a winters scene and to use it to wish everyone my Best Wishes for the Christmas holidays and the New Year.
I have a few ideas for posts in the New Year and so I hope before long to be posting again.
In the mean time, Happy Travelling!
Brian
September sun on the Cote d’Azur
It was a fairly quick trip this time but the weather was fantastic
Mid 30s so in between sorting out a few things we were able to relax and enjoy the sun,the wine and some great meals out with friends and ourselves
I can’t recommend The Camandoule and Table D’Yves highly enough if you are in the Fayence area, they are both great restaurants and always worth the visit.
As always when we are away there was some time for quick sketches in my sketch book, now at volume 3!
Here they are and I do hope you like them
This really quick painting of watercolours appeals to me a lot as I can travel light and paint quickly even in the hot sun.
Plenty of time in the studio for larger artworks for the web sites too, when we are back home.
Near Cannes is the little town of Mandelieu La Napoule with it’s Castle reconstructed by Henry Clews a US philanthropist.. This 10 by 7 inch watercolour shows the lovely little beach next to the quay.
If you have flooded this blog for any time you will know we like St Tropez,not for it Glitz but the back streets and it history. This Port de apache only A short stroll from the busy Quay and still quite like it must have been many years ago.
Off the St Tropez Coast yachts are alway whizzing about with the backdrop of the town behind. This is my interpretation of that scene.
When we are in StTropez I am alway transported to the town as it was in the early part of the 20th Century. Here I have tried to recreate that scene,so different from today, but it must have been an amazing sight to early 20th Century painters when they went there for the first time.
St Tropez as it may have been in 1910.
Lastly a scene in;the heart of St Paul de Vence, the little but very famous hill village on the Cote d’Azur. Full of art studios and galleries there is a lovely view at every corner,and this is just one of them.
Another one of those”At the heart of St Paul de Vence” watercolours
So a busy week but a few watercolours too.
Do go to the Cote d’Azur, it is one of the really special places in the world and always rewarding to visit.
Happy Travelling
Brian
if you have enjoyed seeing these sketches do go to my site on Artfinder
http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
