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Around Broadstairs in Kent in Watercolour
Around Broadstairs in Watercolours
A couple of years ago a venue for the Sky Arts Landscape painter of the Year competition was Broadstairs in Kent, and I was lucky enough to be selected to paint there on that day.(I didn’t get selected for the final alas though!)
Although we had been to Broadstairs before that from then on I have enjoyed visting this picturesque seaside town, and painting watercolours from various photos and some sketches.
So I have collected a few in this post which I hope will encourage you visit to our sandy beached resorts on the Kent coast.

The watercolour I painted during the Sky Arts completion. Painted over a 4 hour period on the sandy beach, and it was 28c temperature! 17 inches by 12.

On that competition day I had some spare time , especially as it was so hot for painting watercolours. So I did this second monochrome version, which one of the passing judges said he liked, result! 17 inches by 12.

Around the headland is Dumpton Gap bay, where the beach is strewn with large chalk rocks and at times the sea has a milky appearance. 16 inches by 12.
Just North of Broadstairs is Botany Bay and these next two painting are the views , south and north at the Bay.
So there you have a few views of this rather quaint Kentish seaside town with strong associations with Charles Dickens too.
In the mean time Best Wishes for Christmas and let us all hope that 2021 will turn out to be a better year that 2020.
Stay well and safe
Brian
PS. If you would like to buy any of these watercolours of any other from my blog please just contact me at brian@brianswatercolours.com and I will respond with availability and price very quickly. A good many paintings have already found nice walls to hang on around the world so please check with me. However if already sold I am always happy to paint a new, original and unique version just for you. I don’t sell copies but I can provide Canvas style prints of most of my watercolours.
Payment can then be easily made by PayPal and courier delivery, usually only taking a few days, will follow. Prices will include the shipping to anywhere in the world.
Thanks
Brian
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!
Hi Everybody
I am always most amused when the weather forecasters give us long term predictions and this year is no exception. Apparently we will always get less snow in the future. Aha! I think they said that in 1987 when we had the Great Storm in England followed by 3 feet of snow that lasted weeks and weeks, closed schools and businesses and was a lot of fun for some!
So I am not holding my breath, but as I look out on a dreary, foggy December day here in Kent I do wonder if a bit of snow might liven things up a bit, at least that would be a better reason for huddling round the fire than Covid!
Thus I am thinking that I will preempt the now inevitable snow ( now that the forecasters say we might not have any!!) by putting some of some Kent and Sussex winter scenes that I have painted watercolours of in the past and maybe then I can settle down at the easel to paint a couple of new wintry scenes as well for a follow up Christmas time blog.
Here then are a selection from what turns out to be about 23 watercolours to chose from.
So there you are ,will we get any snow this year? Might be fun!
Best regards ‘to everyone
Brian
Back in Lockdown! Back to the easel!
Alas as the COVID infection rate has risen in the UK we are, in England, back in a four week lockdown.
At least the sun is shining and so going out for a walk is pleasant, although alas we can’t play any golf.
so this week I have been busy painting a few new watercolours
During October I was lucky enough to have some paintings in Galleries in Tonbridge, the Artspring Galley, and in the Creek Creative Gallery in Faversham. They both were featuring artwork created during Lockdown and being involved was very interesting. My thanks to them for letting me be a part of their exhibitions.
I had lots to chose from to supply to them as I had painted over 60 watercolours during that first Lockdown.
So here are this weeks paintings some of which will be going to a Gallery hopefully in December.
Firstly a watercolour of White Rocks Bay near Portrush in Northern Ireland, on the beautiful Antrim Coast.
I had previously painted this bay as part of a painting and post of the Royal Portrush Golf Course but this watercolour is from just a bit further along the coast at the Bay.
These next three paintings may go to a Gallery in time for Christmas and are quite small compared to my usual watercolours.
They are all A4 size in their white mounts which I have included here.
They were fine and relaxing to paint and so I think I will do a lot more this size.
Ihope you like them
So as Lockdown has started again I guess I will be back painting some more watercolours and sending out a new Post
Take care, stay safe and chill out!
All the Best
Brian
Kent – The Garden of England Part 1
Hi Everybody wherever you may be.
All this extra time at home this year has made me realise how fortunate we are to live in the very beautiful County of Kent in the South East of England
So I thought maybe a few posts of some old and new Kentish scenes would hopefully be interesting to my readers.
It isn’t a tour exactly but a rather haphazard wandering of our very fine piece of England. Due to the large number of places(and watercolours!) I would like to include this post will come in Three parts and this is thus Part 1
I was born In Kent rather a long time ago and more by luck than judgement we can back to live in Kent in the 1970’s. It’s a decision that has worked out well for us as a family and it has given us all the benefits of this lovely part of the UK and it’s proximity to Europe too.
Historically Kent has had a big part to play in the development of the UK and this is very true of our first stopping place, Canterbury.
Canterbury is dominated by the magnificent Cathedral and it’s history, especially that of Thomas a Beckett and the Canterbury tales by Chaucer.
It can be seen from all around the City and here are two watercolour sketches, one of the Cathedral and one of St Augustines Abbey.
It is only a few miles to travel to the North Coast of Kent from Canterbury and from Whitstable there is a long range view toward Reculver,a ruin today but once Roman fort and then an Abbey.
Continuing round the Isle of Thanet brings you to Broadstairs and the white cliffs coast that stretches all to way to Sussex. Here the beaches are sand but as you travel further west the sand changes to shingle.
Toward Dover is the North Foreland Lighthouse on top of the cliffs and in Dover itself the view of the Castle from the Harbour spit is gréât.
From Dover travelling west now you come to Folkestone and Hythe and then Hastings. So here to finish Part 1 are few watercolours of Hythe and Hastings.
Regards
Out and about – A visit to the Marshes at Oare in Kent
It is very nice to once again be able to get out and about and even spend time sketching in the June sunshine in Kent.
This week I was able to do some sketching at Oare, near Faversham in Kent.
The marshes at Oare are a great wildlife and bird sanctuary and there is a pathway called the Saxon Shore Way that goes all around the coastline.
Where the Oare Creek meets the Faversham Creek is for me a nice place to sit and paint the boats, building and long distance view across Kent towards Faversham and beyond. I wasn’t going to be there long so the sketchbook, brushes and paints and three legged stool were enough equipment to paint a couple of scenes which could then be used to do some larger studio watercolours.
So here are the two sketches, each about 10 by 9 inches , one a closer detail of the boast and boatyard at the junction of the two Creeks. It was low tide so rather a lot of mud and not much creek!

Low tide at the Boatyard and the scene from Oare Marshes. Sketchbook watercolour, pen and wash. 10 Ickes by 9.
Back home I had started some larger paintings in watercolour of this scene from older photos but my sketches have now helped finish these paintings off for you to see.
The first is from across the creek toward the boatyard with the buildings and the pub there in the background. The second is the same view as the sketches with a glimpse of St Mary’s Church in the centre of Faversham able to be seen even though it must be about 2 miles away across the flat marshy land.
And this view you have seen before. A rather impressionistic view from Oare of the creek with some barges moored.
Out of interest the two sketches take about 20 minutes each to do so it is fast and furious, but the larger watercolours take me about 2 to 3 hours to complete , albeit with some drying time for the washes.
I hope you enjoy them all.
Where next I wonder?
Stay safe and well
Brian
Spring is really arriving!
Hi Everybody
Although we can’t tour around the beautiful County of Kent at present, the Spring is really arriving fast .
We are currently having the most lovely weather and normally I would be off taking photos of the Kent countryside so that back at home I could paint some watercolours of the scenes.
Its fun to paint on location as well but of course that too isn’t possible in the current situation as we sensibly stay home and try to help limit the spread of this horrible virus.
So a quick whizz through some photos and with a bit of artistic licence I can be somewhere in Kent with the Oast houses, Rapeseed growing in the fields and a few poppies too.
So here is today’s watercolour, trying to capture that scene. It is out there somewhere!
I hope you like it.

Oast Houses and Rapeseed fields in Kent. Spring has sprung! Watercolour 16 inches by 12 on Arches Cold Pressed paper.
If the weather is nice with you, enjoy it too.
Stay safe
Brian
Kent, The English County that’s Home!
Hi All
Another dreary November day, more rain and not much golf!
We seem to be having a very wet early Winter this year and as the leaves fall into ever increasing piles my mind wandered to all the lovely places that Kent has to offer all year round.
I thought I would see how many watercolour paintings I have produced over the past few years and it seems there are a lot, over 70 in fact and many have been in various posts in the past.
So here is post dedicated to Kent, our home County of England.
I hope you will enjoy seeing some of them.
Lets start in Hastings, such a famous town and still noted for its fishing fleet located on the “Stad”, or beach.
Fishing boats at Hastings

More fishing boats at Hythe and Littestone
Towards the East are The White Cliffs, Dover and at South Foreland Lighthouse
And further to the East the traditional seaside town of Broadstairs
Nearby on the Isle of Thanet, the most easterly point of Kent, and there we find is Margate, famous for it association with WM Turner.
Towards the Swale and Thames Estuaries is Faversham, a very old town famous for Barges and its old buildings. There are many creeks in this area and boats and barges are often moored there.
Barges and Barge races are common around the Kent coast. Here are couple of watercolours of some barges
Inland lies the great city of Canterbury with its magnificent Cathedral
In spring Kent is famous for the beautiful Blue woods and the rolling countryside around Horsmonden
i have posted before about the famous Oast Houses of the South of England, and Kent especially
Here is just one watercolour
And finally back to winter, no snow yet but will there be some for Christmas?
Well I hope you have enjoyed this quick visit to Kent,The Garden of England,so I will leave you with a final image of Sissinghurst castle and it’s beautiful gardens.
Come and visit Kent sometime, there is so much to see and enjoy.
And so many more watercolours, I may venture to part 2!
Happy travelling
Brian