Category Archives: Travels with Brush

The 17th Hole at Sawgrass?, no wait, this is at “Legends” in South Africa!

If like me you have been avidly watching The Players Golf Championship at Sawgrass this pas weekend then you will know all about the famous 17th Hole.

Congratulations to SW Kim on his win and to Ian Poulter and Louis Oosthuizen on coming joint 2nd – great achievements.

Alas I have never been to Sawgrass but if you have ever been golfing in South Africa and have visited  Legends Golf and Safari in the Limpopo region then you will recognise this replica hole there with the Entabeni mountains in the background.

Legends Golf and Safari is a remarkable place with a large game park, home to the Big 5, and a signature Championship Golf course. But maybe it is best know for it’s Par 3 hole, “The 19th” , the highest I think in the world , where to play it you have to go up to the Tee in a helicopter  and then the green is 400 metres below you and  is in the shape of Africa. It is amazing!

We have been lucky to have been there twice and once for the Wedding of our friend’s, and great golfers, Ian and Lynnette which held on top of the mountain by the 19th Tee! A World First and a magical experience.

Have a look at their website.  legendhospitality.co.za/

Here is another watercolour of the Mountain from the Lodges at Hanglip, a wonderful place to stay in the Resort.

Golf and Holidays in South Africa are wonderful experiences, if you have been  then great, if not get it on the list!!

Happy travelling

Brian

 

Cruising the St Lawrence and New England

Hi Everyone, thanks for reading this post.

We have just spent great 2 weeks meeting up with very good friends and together cruising down the St Lawrence Seaway and out into the Gulf and then on to New England.

It is a journey we have been looking forward to for some time and the places visited and the scenery were terrific.

It is our 15th year cruising with our four good friends and as always there is lots to talk about and to enjoy, both on and off the cruise ship.

Naturally it is great opportunity for photography, and for me, a time to paint some watercolours of the places we have visited on the Cruise, and afterwards in a short stay in Kennebunkport in Maine.

This year the vivid autumn colours are little later than usual but we did still manage to catch some views of the trees turning to gold, bronze, and red as we travelled.

Vainly we watched for whales which do frequent this region, but alas 3 spouts was the only glimpse we got, and a potential whale watching trip in Bar Harbor was sabotaged by bad weather.

Anyway I have lots of photos to turn into watercolours but here are the paintings that I managed to complete on the cruise.

More updates to this blog in the future as I sift through the photos and turn some into watercolours.

I have included a couple of extra paintings from previous trips to New England for you to see until I can get round to some new watercolours of New England.

We started the cruise in Montreal and this evening skyline painting didn’t work too well but it gives glimpse of this interesting and large city. Montreal is I am told the second largest French speaking City in the world, second only to Paris!

Evening at Montreal

Evening at Montreal

On leaving Montreal we were treated to a spectacular sunset which gave me an interesting challenge as a watercolour.

Sunset on the St Lawrence near Montreal

Sunset on the St Lawrence near Montreal

 

Overnight we sailed to Quebec where even though it was our second visit there we enjoyed walking around this lovely City. On our second day we took a “Foodie Tour”, which was really good. Local food and wine and stops many tasting places and restaurant finished up by beer and Cheese tasting in the Frontenac Hotel. Our guide was excellent and the combination of Food and history of the City was very interesting.

I strongly recommend this if you are planning some time in Quebec. Have look at http://www.toursvoirquebec.com, our guide was Jocelyn Belle.

On the tour the view of the Frontenac Hotel from the older and beautifully restored  lower town inspired this watercolour.

The Frontenac Hotel from Quebec's Old Town

The Frontenac Hotel from Quebec’s Old Town

Our cruise took us past the pretty Ile d’Orleans and Montmorency Falls ( paintings at a later date!)

Our next port of call was Saguenay, a town at the end of a 32 mile Canadian Fjiord. Despite watching for whales at the entrance to the fjord we didn’t manage any sightings.

 

From Saguenay we sailed over night to Baie Commeau, a small but interesting town on the North bank of the St Lawrence. A highlight there was our time spent at the Glacier visitor centre with amazing information about, and photos of Glaciers around the World.

 

From here we went on to Gaspe where we took to opportunity to visit Perce and its famous Rock. This vast rocky island lies just offshore and dominates the town. Here is my painting from a photo taken just out of the town at the lighthouse.

Pierce Rock. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.

Pierce Rock. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.

From Gaspe we sailed to Prince Edward Island , but alas due to strong winds we were unable to dock there. However these two lighthouses passed by the ship as we sailed and approached the island and so on the extra day at sea I painted these two watercolours.

A Lighthouse near Gaspe in Canada

A Lighthouse near Gaspe in Canada. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.

 

Blockhouse road Lighthouse on PEI

Blockhouse road Lighthouse on Prince Edward Island. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.

After the dissapointmetnof not landing at Prince Edward Island we sailed on for 2 days to Halifax, Nova Scotia. They have made the board walk a real feature of Halifax and it is very pleasant stroll along it into the town and up to the Citadel if you have the energy for the climb!

There are some lovely old yachts and small ships in the port at Halifax and fine views across to Fort George.

Here is a painting of vintage yacht sailing past Fort George, just a little bit of artistic licence here to bring them together at the island!

George Fort and a vintage sailing ship at Halifax, Nova Scotia

George Fort and a vintage sailing ship at Halifax, Nova Scotia

From Halifax we sailed overnight to Bar Harbor. Bar Harbor is lovely town with nice shops, and galleries, as well as being on the beautiful Mount Desert Island. Alas, it was pouring and windy when we were there, but luckily we had been there is good weather some years ago so we could imagine it in the sun. Our plan of a whale watching trip was impossible in such rough weather too.

Thus my painting of the Mount Desert Lighthouse is from an archive photo and is on sunny day!

Lighthouse on Mount Desert Island near Bar Harbor

Lighthouse on Mount Desert Island near Bar Harbor.

It was really rough weather leaving Bar Harbor and the night to Boston was the roughest cruise night we have encountered, not bad after so many cruises, we have been lucky!

We didn’t stop in Boston but picked up a car and drove with our friends to Kennebunkport where we stayed in the very nice “Captain Lord Mansion”. We really like Kennebunkport and the whole area.

In the centre of the town by the bridge you can see these 3 Dories slowly swinging together with the tide. Thought they made good subject for a watercolour.

"The Three Dories" at Kennebunkport.

“The Three Dories” at Kennebunkport.

We took a trip the next day to Ogunquit  and Perkins Cove and the Nubble light house near York. I have many more paintings of New England to do now but here is one I did 10 years ago of The Nubble which will do until I can paint a few new ones.

The Nubble Lighthouse - New England

The Nubble Lighthouse – New England, painting in 2006

So from Kennebunkport it was back home, farewells to our friends till next time and a flight back to the UK.

A great holiday with such good friends, lots of food, wine and great times.

What’s not to like!

Happy travelling

Brian

Brian@brianswatercolours.com

 

Golf and a Wedding at Legends Golf and Safari at Entabeni, and then a few days in Mauritius!

 

 

 

Dawn at Legends Golf and Safari

Dawn at Legends Golf and Safari

Hi Everybody

We have just returned from a wonderful holiday at Legends Golf and Safari where we enjoyed some golf and the opportunity to go to the Wedding of our good friends Ian Godleman and Lynnette Brooky.

We have been travelling with them (Pro Golfing Tours) on great golf trips for many years and this one was no exception, made even more exciting by being the venue for their Wedding. You can see more about Legends Extreme 19th hole at http://www.legendgolfsafari.com/extreme-19th

Theirs was the first Wedding to have been held on the Extreme 19th Hole at Entabeni. The tee has to be reached by helicopter and is over 400 metres higher than the green below which is in the shape of Africa.

The Wedding ceremony was held on the mountain top and after the ceremony we all teed off to see how good a score we could achieve on this totally unique, and very tricky Par 3 hole. It is the highest Par 3 tee in the world and was such a fantastic venue for the Wedding.

All the guests enjoyed the unique experience and we all wish them Good Health and Happiness for the future. You can see more about the Wedding on the Ladies European Tour Website.

I managed to paint a  few watercolours whilst there and I hope you will like them. The views and the animals at Entabeni are really spectacular. I used some web images to help with the animal paintings on this occasion but we were lucky to see Lions, Giraffes, Elephants, Cheetahs, Rhinos and lots of  Wildebeast, Antelope and Zebra. The trip to the golf course is daily safari, and one morning the Lions had made a kill just upside of our Lodge!

After our great week there we then travelled to Mauritius for some more golf and relaxation at le Tousserok. The location by the Indian Ocean and it’s fine golf course on an island is a really terrific destination. Not much time for painting, but here are two , one of which I painted quickly on the return flight of 12 hours from Mauritius to London. Painting in the cabin was a first for me and a bit tricky with the slight turbulence.

The last painting is one that I painted in 2008 showing the Bernard Langer designed golf course at Le Tousserok. I thought it was worth including it here.

Anyway please enjoy these paintings and if you ever get the chance, golfer or not do go to legends at Entabeni,it is really great place to go!

Happy travelling

Brian

Early evening at Hanglip

Early evening at Hanglip

 

 

 

On the range

On the practice range at Entabeni

 

Towards the Entabeni mountains

Towards the Entabeni mountains

 

Elephants in the sunset

Elephants in the sunset

Dawn at Wildside

Dawn at Wildside

The 11th hole at Le Tousserok, Mauritius

The 11th hole at Le Tousserok, Mauritius

 

 

 

A Sandy Bay on Mauritius, Piainted ofn the flight to London.

A Sandy Bay on Mauritius,
Painted on the flight to London.

 

The Bernard Langer course at Le Tousserok from the air

The Bernard Langer course at Le Tousserok from the air

 

A New Venture!

Travels with a Brush Volume 1

Hi Everybody

Happy New Year to you all!

To start this year I  have decided to try out a new idea based on my paintings.

It began when I created to blog dedicated to my mother in law, Sadie back in 2013. That blog was about the Antrim Coast Road in Northern Ireland and it struck me that I might be able to produce a few Travel Guides of various places we know quite well, illustrated with my watercolours. I always photograph my work so they all reside in my Mac.

 

Apple have produced a great App for Macs that is called iAuthor which allows you to produce books for publishing on the iBook store (for Apple users on iPads and computers etc) or as a pdf that is viewable by all.

 

The first of these book which is titled Travels with a Brush, Volume 1 – The Cote d’Azur  is now available on the ibook store ( search for Cote d’Azur) but is also attached here as a pdf file for anyone to download. (Click on the link at the top of this post).

 

The books are free, I didn’t think anyone would be inclined to pay for my ramblings but nevertheless I hope you might find the books interesting. The second one, on Ulster in Ireland will be published in month or so.

 

I will be back to more normal painting posts soon but in the meantime any feedback is always welcome

 

Happy travelling

 

Brian

Front cover of The Cote d'Azur
Front cover of The Cote d’Azur
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