Category Archives: Travels with a Brush
Places I would like to be – St Ives in Cornwall
Hi everybody
St Ives in Cornwall. Watercolour 13 inches by 9. Painted on Arches watercolour paper.
I have visited St Ives quite a few times over the years but suddenly today I thought I would paint a watercolour of the town.
It is a lovely spot and of course all of Cornwall is great to visit, not only for the scenery but also the food and restaurants too.
it didn’t turn our quite as I had planned it but I hope you will enjoy seeing it anyway.
Happy travelling
Brian
Other paintings that I have completed over the years of Cornish scenes can be seem by clicking the Category tabs on this page.
“Sunlight on the Pond”
Sunlight on the pond. Watercolour 21.5 inches by 14.5 Version 1. The Original
With windy weather keeping me at home I thought I might paint a larger watercolour of trees and a pond
I woke up with this image whizzing round my head so that seemed a good excuse to have ago.
I do find painting at larger sizes quite challenging and this sheet of Arches paper is 22 inches by 15, and very nice to work with as it holds the water very well for long periods of time.
So here it is and I have added below two more versions of it cropped to different sizes below.
I can’t decide which version I prefer but if you have any thoughts on this I would be delighted to hear them
Just don’t ask where the pond is though!
Happy travelling!
Brian
Version2 cropped to square 13 inches by 13
Version 3. Cropped to 18 inches by 12
Sunset at Leeds Castle in Kent
Leeds Castle in Kent, “As evening falls” Watercolour 15 inches by 7 on Arches watercolour paper.
Just a bit of an experiment
A quick watercolour of Leeds Castle in Kent as evening falls
I thought I would post it, any comment would as always be welcome
happy travelling
Brian
Places I’d like be – Milford Sound in New Zealand
Early morning at Milford Sound 20 inches by 14
Hi All
It seems a long time ago now that we enjoyed a wonderful touring and golfing holiday with great friends in New Zealand.
Wherever you go the scenery is stunning and in both the North Island and in the South Island we saw wonderful sights that will always live in our memory.
Although we do hope to return there I thought recently that based on some of the photos from that trip that I would try and paint a watercolour of Milford Sound early in the morning as the sun burst through the mountains. Milford Sound is one of many fjord in the Soth west corner of New Zealand’s South island. The trip to it is amazing and a boat trip right out to the sea when you are there is a definite “must do”.
The watercolour is 20 by 14 inches and is painted on Arches NOT 300gsm paper, and mainly with Daniel Smith watercolour paints.
Maybe it will hasten our return to this wonderful place that is, alas, so far away from the UK.
I hope you enjoy seeing my effort.
Happy travelling
Brian
Seasons Greetings!
“Do you think we will be able to play by 10 o’clock?”. The Golf Course in the winter snow Watercolour 20 by 14 inches by Brian
Hi Everbody
I would like to wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and Good wishes for the New Year.
I very much appreciate you looking at, and following my blog and for your comments and interest in my watercolours.
Its been a busy year with a lot of new watercolours being created and it’s been exciting to ship quite a lot to homes around the world, where I hope they will be lasting memories of travel and good times.
Winter in the UK has been a wet affair with no snow in my area yet, but maybe we will see some in the next few weeks.
With that in mind I painted this scene a few days ago, of our local golf club and it seems appropriate for this last post of the year.
Enjoy the holidays wherever you are.
Happy travelling
Brian
Occasional larger watercolours
Hi Everybody
Thanks for reading this blog post.
I like to paint my watercolours in a few regular sizes
On travel they are often 10 by 8 inch pen and ink studies that sometimes become larger paintings. Here is a recent example
In the studio or en plein air I like to paint watercolours that are 14 by 10 inches or 16 by 12. For me it a comfortable size and I quite often use Arches 300gsm watercolour paper blocks which are very nice to work with whether indoor or outside.
Again here is recent one
Varenna on Lake Como
Occasionally I will paint lager paintings in watercolour up to about 25 inches by 20. For me these take a bit more preparation and thought and naturally take longer to do.
So here is recent example of a lager painting recently sent to a customer in the USA. It is of Durnstein on the Danube river and was based on painting and photos taken there a few years ago.
It is 24 inches by 16 inches and was painted on 600gsm Saunders watercolour paper . This thick paper is great to use as it retains the water for long periods and that helps with larger areas of washes.
Watercolour of Durnstein. 24 inches by 16.
Here are a few more larger watercolours painted over the last few years
Misty morning in Norfolk. Watercolour 25 inches by 20.
Portofino Watercolour 20 inches by 10
Watercolour of Burnham Overy Staithe. 25 inches by 20. Painted during a Herman Pekel Workshop.
I hope to be painting quite a lot more larger watercolours in the future
Happy Travelling
Brian
Evenings, stormy and calm
Hi Everyone
Just a quick post with some new and old watercolours of evening skies
Lets start with a very recent watercolour of Rye and one of a scene on the Rhine also painted recently.
Evening at Rye in East Sussex. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches Rough paper.
Evening on the Rhine in Germany.watercolour 14 by 10 inches on Arches Rough Paper.
And some stormier skies :-
A Evening storm brewing At Antibes
Fishing boat at Littlestone beach as the storm approaches.
Blustery evening at Kinderdijk.
And some calmer Evening to end this post
Evening in Provence
The sun setting on the Ile de la Cite in Paris
Sunset in Tuscany
Happy travelling Everybody!
Brian
A short trip to Northern Ireland
We have just been over to Northern Ireland for two Celebrations.
The first a couple of days at the Lough Erne Resort in Fermanagh to celebrate a couple of notable Birthdays and then to Carrickfergus for a great family Wedding
Both events were really good and the weather was very kind to us too, with sun and warmth as we travelled about.
Just time for a few watercolours and a couple painted before we went as gifts for the Bride and Groom.
Lough Erne is a huge Lough with countless islands and lovely views. We were able to take a boat trip on the Lough and visit Devenish Island with is now ruined and very old Church and Monastery.
The ruined Monastery on Devenish Island on Lugh Erne. Water colour 14 inches by 10 on Arches NOT paper
At the southerly end of Lower Lough Erne lies the very old and historic town of Enniskillen.
The “Watergate” there is a focal point of the town and this watercolour was painted from photos taken from our boat trip on the Lough.
The Watergate at Enniskillen. 14 inches by 10 on Arches NOT watercolour paper.
Around the shores of Lough Erne there are many sights to see and this cottage scene is typical of the scenery.
A Cottage in Fermanagh. Watercolour 12 inches by 9 on Arches Rough watercolour paper.
The Wedding was held in the lovely statley home called Magheramorne House, quite close to Larne and not far from Carrickfergus.
This sketch of Magheramorne House will remind the Bride and Groom of there Wedding day there as they start their new life together in Carrickfergus.
Magheramorne House. Watercolour pen and Ink sketch 10 by 8 inches.
Everybody wishes them All the Best for the Future.
Carrickfergus on the Causeway Coastal Route. Watercolour on Arches NOT paper 12 by 8 inches.
So a very enjoyable week on this beautiful part of the UK, and many more photos to paint in the future
Happy travelling
Brian
UPDATE! Shane Lowry wins The Open at Royal Portrush!
Hi Everybody
Readers of this post will have seen images of my watercolours of the North Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland before.
Shane Lowry the brilliant Irish Golfer has just won The Open Golf on the Dunluce Links of Royal Portrush Golf Course on that beautiful coast.
Congatulations to Shane and all his team!
The Open was last held there in 1951 and for it to be there once again is a great achievement of many people over many years.
I could not help wanting to post some watercolours of the coast of Antrim and to start with a new painting of the 5th Green on the Dunluce links which is right next to the shore. This hole is next to White Rocks bay and is often called that. It is challenging like the whole course and this weekend I am sure we will all see much excitement on the course from all the world class golfers assembled there.
The 5th Hole on the Dunluce Course at Royal Portrush Golf Club. Watercolour 16 inches by 11.
But Portrush is only a part of the wonderful coast line that starts in Carrickfergus and stretches all the way to Donegal. Here are selection from the many watercolours that I have painted over the past years. The whole coast is such a delight to visit due to it’s proximity to the sea, the wonder of the Antrim Glens and amazing places like the Giants Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, and its many excellent golf courses.
Carrickfergus Castle
Sailing off the Antrim Coast near Ballygally
The Antrim Coast near Carnlough
The Antrim Coast at Ballintoy
Fair Head near Ballycastle on the Antrim Coast
The coast from above Cushendun
The Giant’s Causeway at sunset
The Bushmill’s Inn
And when you have seen all the sights you can happily retreat to the Bushmills Inn for great food and drink and good company.
Enjoy watching The Open, I will!
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.
