Blog Archives
A great painting day in Arlington Bluebell Woods in Sussex
The woodlands at Bates Green Farm at Arlington in Sussex are famous for the intensity and the vast amount of Bluebells there in the Spring.
I am most indebted to Alison Cotton , a local Sussex Artist and Watercolour tutor, for arranging this lovely day there in what turned out to be perfect sunny and warm weather!
Phillipa, from the Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen prepared a really tasty lunch of Asparagus Quiches, amazing salads and a Rhubarb crumble for the eight of us which was all really delicious.
Having the extensive woods all to ourselves was amazing and we all really enjoyed watching Alison’s demonstrations and trying hard to capture the colour and the masses of bluebells , with the trees and dappled shade of their surroundings.
I was pleased to have had time for three watercolours 14 inches by 10 and to have time to take many reference photos for the future.
So here are my efforts. Painting watercolours “en plein air” is always tricky but in the warm dappled sun it was nevertheless a great experience.
“At the edge of the Woods”. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches 300 gsm paper
“A path through Arlington Woods”. Watercolour on Arches 300 gsm paper, 14 inches by 10
“A glimpse of the pond in Arlington woods”. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches 300gsm paper.
My thanks to Alison, Philippa and everyone that made the day so enjoyable. Maybe a return visit to paint the woods in the Autumn would be a good chance to sample more of the great food from the Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen and enjoy more painting in Arlington Woods.
Happy Travelling
Brian
Larger and more impressionistic!
Hi Everybody
I have alway been interested in painting larger watercolours but only now have I really got round to giving it a go.
After the recently posted Salisbury Cathedral watercolour, shown again here, I have been painting a few larger more impressionistic watercolours either at 78 cms width or 95 cms width.
Salisbury Cathedral 75 by 25 cms on Arches 300 gsm paper
Here are the two new wide paintings , the first one on Saunders 600gsm paper which is very heavy and takes lots of water very well.
A Wide watercolour,78 by 20cms on 600gsm warecolour paper
The second was painted on heavy wallpaper lining paper and although I was sceptical if it would take watercolour at all it has turned out fine and the paint dried nicely on this fairly smooth paper.
Even wider 95 by 20 cms on Commercial lining paper about 200 gms.
This paper is many times lower in cost than watercolour rolls of paper and so I will try it again.
Both are as you see semi abstract Fen like scenes and I have been pleased with the interest shown in this style which is for me a bit of a departure from the norm!
This week i hope to be away painting the Bluebell woods in Sussex and this may also give me an opportunity for a really wide watercolour too. If so I will post it here soon
Any comments gratefully received!
Happy Travelling
Brian
Large and Small watercolours for sale on Artfinder
Watercolour sketch, Faversham Standard Quay, 25 by 22 cms
I love to paint watercolours and I am pleased to say that there are quite a lot of people that own my paintings around the World.
I really enjoy hearing that they enjoy the places depicted which may be their favourite places, or reminders of holidays or places that they would like to go to.
But not everybody has room on their walls for larger pieces and so I have started offering smaller versions of some of my larger watercolours, even some tht have been sold in the past.
They all wiil appear on http://www.Artfinder.com/brianswatercolours and are I hope will be very affordable.
Here are some recent ones for you to see
Boating on Lake Bitterer in the English Lake District Watercolour on Arches paper, 29 by 13.5 cos. £120 on Artfinder.
The Original Large watercolour of Autumn at Lake Buttermere, 46 by 26 cms £200 on Artfinder.
Dawn at Broadstairs in Kent. Watercolour on Arches paper, 35 by 25 cms. £135 on Artfinder
A Larger watercolour Of Broadstairs, 35 by 26 cms currently in an Exhibition at “The Drawing Room Gallery ” in West Malling in Kent.
“Stormy Skies at Fair Head” on the Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland. Watercolour 29 by 13.5 cms on Arches Paper. £120 on Artfinder
Larger Watercolour “Stormy Skies over Fair Head”. Watercolour . 40.5 by 30.5 cms .£220 on Artfinder.
And an even bigger one of this same scene, this time a Watercolour on a Primed Canvas which is good to use for really large watercolours
Watercolour on canvas ,60 cms by 30, ready ready to hang as no frame requred .£245 on Artfinder
So if you notice any more of my Watercolours that you think you would like to buy a smaller version of on Artfinder.com/brianswatercolours, just send me an email and I will endeavour to paint one and put it up for sale.
Happy travelling
Brian
Pen and Wash sketches of Canterbury
Hi Everbody
It is hardly the weather for outdoor sketching at present here in Kent so here are three quick Pen and Wash watercolours in and around Canterbury in Kent, all done in a few idle moments over the Christmas holidays from photos in my library.
With them come my Best Wishes for the New Year too!
Regards to all
Brian
It’s 2022 where shall we go?
Happy New Year!
Well lets hope it is — for us all.
A return to travelling , meeting eveyone, ditching the mask and returning life to normal. It it too much to ask?
Alas it may be but we can only plan and dream, and we do have some plans to look forward to but I wont tempt fate by talking about them yet.
So today a couple of watercolours to welcome the New Year, painted this week between Christmas and New Year of the English Lake District, one of the few places we did manage to go to in 2021.
I was amazed to find that I have a ready painted 18 sketches and watercolours of the region since travelling there in June 2021. I guess that is because we really enjoyed the area, the people and the food there, and the scenery is stunning!
Although in June it was very busy with all of us Staycationers!
These two new watercolours are of Buttermere and the beautiful waterfalls at Aira Force near the shore of Ullswater at Glenridding.
The climb up to the top of the bridge shown in this watercolour is about 150 metres which was for us quite an achievement!
But the circular walk is really a lovely experience and well worth the climb.
The falls drop about 20 metres and the roar is terrific.
The second watercolour is a larger work of Buttermere Lake, still in the Lake Dirsict but a little futher west of Ullswater.
It is very famous for Fleetwith Pike and Haystacks and the area has always been a popular place for painters and walkers with the mountains coming down to the lake.
This is a more traditional watercolour of Buttermere , this time in more Autumn hues and is 50 by 30 cms and is painted on Arches 300 gsm watercolour paper, my favourite watercolour medium.
It is for sale on Artfinder as are many of my watercolours.
Buttermere in the Lake District. Watercolour on Arches 300gsm paper , 50 by 30 cms. Fleetwith Pike to the left and Haystacks Fell to the right
I was prompted by our lack of recent travel to tally up the Countries that we have visited over many years, and I was surprised to find that it came to 57 different Countries. Mind you as there are over 190 Countries worldwide there is still plenty of scope for more to be added, let us hope we can!
Of those 57, I have painted watercolours and sketches of 45 and many are in this Blog’s archives.
In the mean time stay safe and well and enjoy wherever you are.
As we have found over the past two years there are many fabulous places in your own area and Country to see and explore.
Very Best Wishes for 2022
Brian
http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
or contact me at
brian@brianswatercolours.com and i will happily take on commissions for watercolours that are special to you!
It is what I really love to do!
Faversham – A gem in Kent
Hi Everybody
Faversham in Kent is a very old, and historic town well worth a visit.
Mentioned in the Domesday Book and settled for many centuries Faversham was a favoured town as far back as King Stephen in the early 12th century. He established Faversham Abbey and Faversham has for centuries been an important seaport and market town. Once a centre of the explosives industry and still the home of a major UK brewer , Shepherd Neame
Today Faversham has many charming old houses and a thriving market as well as a Quay where barges and other craft can be seen.
It is favourite place of mine to paint and enjoy the quaintness of the area, including the nearby marshes and the creeks leading out to the Thames Estuary.
It has a fine local Art centre in Creek Creative ( and a very nice cafe too!) and shortly Faversham will be hosting a exhibition called ” Home is a Feeling” at which some of my artworks will be on show along with many items created by local artists and crafts people.
Here is the flyer for it
So today I have included some of my watercolours of Faversham which I hope you will enjoy. If you get a chance do visit Faversham and enjoy the town , it’s Quay and the excellent hostelries and shops to be found there.
Barges at Standard Quay in Faversham Watercolour 15 inches by 11 on Arches paper
Market day in Faversham. Sketch 11 by 8 inches
Oare Creek near Faversham
A Barge at Hollowshore near Faversham
Faversham Guildhall and Market. Sketch 11 inches by 9
Boatyard at Oare Creek near Faversham. Watercolour 14 by 10 inches
Evening at Standard Quay. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
I hope you have enjoyed these watercolours of the Faversham area and that you will find the time to visit this very interesting town.
Happy travelling
Brian
Sketching in The Lake District
Well,it’s seems amazing but we have just had a nice 6 day holiday in the Lake District of England, and with really nice weather too, whilst our home county of Kent was suffering heavy rain and thunderstorms!
The area around Windermere was very busy and fortunately I had pre booked very nice restaurants some of which I have mentioned below.
The visit gave me an opportunity for some watercolour pen and wash sketches and due to the nice weather I was able to paint them “en plein air” which was very enjoyable.
In the next post I will include so more formal studio watercolour paintings of the Lakes but here are the sketches that I have so far completed.
I hope you enjoy looking at them.
Firstly near to Windermere is Ambleside , although we didn’t realise that Ambleside at the lake is a mile or more from the town.
We went there on a Windermere lake cruise but having to wear a mask all the time on the boat was both unpleasant and in my opinion totally unnecessary as we were all distanced and out in the open air!
The House on the bridge in Ambleside.Sketch, pen and wash 10 inches by 9
In Ambleside I managed to sketch the famous House on the Bridge, which is quite extraordinary and dates back to collecting tolls , I believe mainly to do with the sheep trade.
The next day we went to Derwentwater where parking at the Lakeside is a very tricky thing to do, but on the way we spent some time at Ashness Bridge, a very old Packhorse bridge near to Derwentwater.
I was able to two quick sketches of this very picturesque scene one from the South side and one from the North.
Ashness packhorse Bridge looking South
The road there is very narrow but there is a National Trust car park thank goodness!
Ashness Packhorse bridge looking North
Not far away from Asness bridge is Derwnetwater and there is a lovely walk along the South shore of the lake, with views across the lake to Skiddaw mountain.
I managed to capture this view in this sketch and of course there are many more photos for future paintings.
Derwentwater with Skiddaw Mountain in the distance. Sketch, pen and wash 10 inches by 9
Our next day was spent at Ullswater after a beautiful mountainous drive from Windermere across the fells.
Ullswater was much quieter and thus more enjoyable for a quiet time sitting and painting by the lake and watching the steamer gliding over the Lake. While at Ullswater we also visited The Airs Force waterfall and felt quite elated that we climbed the 220 feet to get to this marvellous waterfall.I will be doing a sketch of it shortly, as I didn’t carry anything up to the viewing point.
Ullswater. Sketch, pen and wash 20 inches by 9
On our final day we spent a few hours on the west shore of Coniston Water and i managed to paint this sketch with the very old Coniston Steamer on the lake.
Coniston Water. Sketch, pen and wash 20 inches by 9
I have arrived back with lots of ideas for future paintings which will appear on this blog in a while.
In th mean time should you venture to the Lake District I would strongly recommend these restaurants, but do book well ahead!
In Windermere – Francine’s (brilliant) and San Pietro.
In Bowness – Villa Positano (great food and atmosphere)
Beyond Ambleside The Drunken Duck (very good food but more expensive)
I hope you will one day enjoy them.
Happy travelling once again!
Brian
A few recent watercolours, Summer is here!
Hi Everybody,
With no travel outside of the UK really possible for us yet I have been painting a few watercolours of places that I love or would like be going too.
Firstly a watercolour pen and wash sketch of Polpero in Cornwall, somewhere we have been to, but, I am indebted to “The Hungry Travellers Blog” (https://www.thehungrytravellers.blog) for their permission to use the photograph from which this watercolour is based. I like the verticality of the buildings that they captured in the photo.
Polpero in Cornwall. Watercolour sketch 10 inches by 9.
Next two recent commissions of Tuscany and Umbria. I have painted these scenes before but I do love to paint scenes like these again and again! Of course they are always a bit different.
Lucca in Tuscany. Watercolour on Arches paper. 18 inches by 8.
A view of evening in Umbria. Watercolour on Arches paper. 18 inches by 8.
The Lake District of England is very spectacular and so here is recent watercolour of Derwentwater there.
Derwentwater in The Lake District. Watercolour on Arches 19 by 9 inches
A quiet day in Venice. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
Again and again I love to try to capture Venetian scenes and this one, quite near to the Rialto Bridge is a view that I love with the Church tower adding height to the waterfront view.
Lastly two more views of Engalnd
This first one is a view across the Suffolk Fens and the second of a farm and Oast Houses in Kent. I hope you like them.
Across the Fens. Watercolour 16 inches by 12.
Oasts and Farm in kent. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
Maybe soon some real travel will let me post some “plein air” watercolours.
In the mean time stay safe and well and enjoy the summer if it is that time of year for you.
Best regards to all
Brian
PS Don’t forget if you see a watercolour here you would like to buy or commission a similar version just email me at –
brian@brianswatercolours.com
Tall and Thin, Watercolours in a vertical format.
Hi Everybody
One kind reader remarked that a recent one of my posted watercolours seemed a bit of a departure from my normal style, and that was so although now and again I do like to paint tall watercolours rather than the more common Landscape format I usually use.
This format seems to me to lead me to a to a “wet into wet”, reflection style and so here I have gathered some together for you to have look at.
Some recent and some not so recent but all a bit different.
The first one , painted very recently is of the beautiful Scotney Castle , here in Kent in the UK. At the bottom of a valley, often covered in late spring with a lot of Rhododendrons and Azealeas blooms lies the old Castle and Folly.
It is a subject I do like to paint and we do visit there quite often
Scotney Castle . Watercolour, 52 cms by 22 on Arches 300gsm watercolour paper.
Here are three watercolours with a common theme.
The Pond,1,2 and 3 All about 50 by 20 cms.
The Pond 1
The Pond 2
The Pond 3
This watercolour was inspired by a painting session with a local friend who had photographed this spot whilst in Scotland.
A Scottish river in Winter. Watercolour 50 by 30 cms
Some years ago we voted Portofino in Italy and this was painted from sjhetches and phots of that visit. The colourful buildings and the tranquil bay just seemed to fit this aspect ratio.
Portofino in Italy. Watercolour on Arches paper 55 by 20 cms.
This last watercolour is purely from the imagination and an exercise in a bright focal point in a watercolour.
Sunlight on the Pond
I hope you have enjoyed seeing these watercolours in a somewhat different aspect ration to my normal landscape mode.
Stay safe and well
Brian
Places I would like to be – The Lake District of England.
Hi Everybody
As I sit here in continued lockdown and recall our many and varied travel plans that have all come to nothing, I remember how for the past few years we had planned a short break in the The Lake District of England. To cap it all we now have snow! , not a lot just a few inches but that is enough to cause some travel chaos here, not that we can go anywhere anyway!
Frustrated by not being able to go anywhere or even meet people I resorted this week to guide books and the web for inspiration of the English Lakes and so for the past three days I have painted four watercolours of some of the many places that we would love to visit in and around the area of Cumbria, with its magnificent scenery.
Maybe later this year or next we will be able to visit and enjoy the scenery at first hand.
The Lake District today lies entirely in Cumbria and is home to the highest peaks in England. It covers over 1200 square miles of mountains and lakes.
The highest peak is Scafell Pike at 3,209 feet and this first watercolour tries to capture Scafell Pike and Scafell and the lake before them called Wasdale. With around 20 lakes and many Fells and Peaks the Lake District area is a very popular destination for visitors, hikers, painters, photographers and all outdoor pursuits as well as for it’s good accommodation ,and great food, and a warm welcome.
Scafell and Scafell Pike with Wasdale lake in the foreground. Watercolour 13 inches by 9.5 on Arches Rough Watercolour paper. Available for purchase on Artfinder
My second watercolour is of the delightful small town of Ambleside which lies at the Northern end of Lake Windermere and is very famous for the “Bridge House”.
The 17th Century house, originally built to store produce from fields on the far side of the Stock Beck, is one of the most curious and often painted houses in the Lake District.
The Bridge House in Ambleside, a Pen and Wash Watercolour. 13 inches by 9.5 on Arches Rough watercolour paper. Available for purchase on Artfinder.com/Brianswatercolours
Other bridge scene in the Lake District, this time of Stockley Bridge in Borrowdale. This very old packhorse bridge is one of many in the Lkae District.
Stockley Pack Horse Bridge . 18th Century. Watercolour 14 inches by 10
My last watercolour, for now anyway, (there will be more when I can actually go there), is the view across Buttermere which is another popular watercolour artist’s view.
My inspiration here comes from photos and also a wonderful watercolour painting by Edward Wesson, an amazing 20th century English watercolorist who is an inspiration to myself and many artists.
Across Buttermere. Watercolour 9.5 by 13 inches on Arches Rough watercolour paper. Also available for sale on Artfinder
Lockdown has reminded us of how many beautiful places we have to visit in the UK and with International travel some way off, even though we have now had the Covid Vaccine, there will be many places to plan visits to over the next year.
Wherever you are stay safe and well and like us please look forward to travel in the future.
Best regards
Brian
