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New Year on the Cote d’Azur
Hi Everybody,
Digging in the sand at Mandelieu La Napoule
We were very fortunate this year to spend New Year in Mandelieu, on the Cote d’Azur. As you all know we really enjoy this lovely part of France.
The weather was really lovely, sunny enough to eat lunch on the terrace and play golf and paint in the sun.
Especially nice too, as our Grandaughter, aged 2, and her parents were with us which inspired one of the paintings. A quick dig on a lovely sandy beach is something for any time on the year!
We didn’t actually visit Haut Provence this time but I managed to paint a couple of watercolours from older reference photos.
I hope you enjoy these new paintings and that if you know this part of the world it will remind you of it’s beauty ,or if you haven’t yet visited this lovely coast and mountain region get it on your list!
Happy painting, and travelling to you all and may 2015 be a good year!
Brian
“Have look at my other site too.”
http://www.brianswatercolours.com
Lavender at the village in Provence
Winter in the mountains of Provence
Cottage in Haut Provence
A Few Days in The Sun!
Hi Everyone
I think by now everyone must know how much we like the South of France, especially the Cote d’Azur.
At the end of November we were able to spend some time there and for the most part the weather was really lovely, warm enough to eat breakfast and lunch outside on the terrace and at the harbour at Villefranche.
Now back in England the weather is cold and wet and so a little reminder seems in order.
I wasn’t too happy with my quick watercolours but as the sun was out I thought I would share them with you.
If it is sunny where you are then that is very nice but if it is wet, cold or snowy then imagine the warm sun and look forward to next summer.
Happy travelling!
Brian
http://www.brianswatercolours.com
Agay on the Esterel Coast in November afternoon sun.
St Tropez
Antibes in November, blue sky and snow on the mountains.
Cruising in the Adriatic.
Hi Everbody
A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to be able to go on an Adriatic Cruise with four very good friends.
Before that we had spent a lovely week in Paris in beautiful weather and it was all very enjoyable. Good food, good wine and above all great company just makes a holiday so terrific.
Ile de la Cite from a river cruise in Paris
Our cruise departed from Venice and visited Ravenna, famous for it’s wonderful 6th Century Byzantine mosaics, Split where had delightful day visiting Trogir, a World Heritage Town, and Split too.
From there we sailed to Dubrovnik, where we visited the old town but as we had been there before also took a trip to Cavtat, a beautiful small village by the sea. After Dubrovnik we sailed on to Zadar, which has a very historic and lovely old town right by the sea. Our last port of call was Koper in Slovenia, and there we took a tour along the coast to Piran, a really delightful town on a little peninsula into the Adriatic. And then on into the hills to Istrian , where we met the local stall holders and sampled there excellent food, oil and wine. Slovenia seems areally lovely place as was Croatia for our earlier ports of call. Everyone was very friendly and we really enjoyed our very short time in these Countries. Good reason to go back for much longer!
Finally we arrived back in Venice and you can never tire of wandering the little back streets and crossing the many waterways cthat make Venice what it is. Away from the main areas it is often very quiet and peaceful and every corner brings a new and interesting scene. The opportunies to paint are everywhere and it will take me long time to try my hand at some of the photos that I have returned with.
That said there was some time on the cruise for a little sketching and watercolour painting and below are some of my attempts. Often done very quickly, so I hope over the winter to revisit these photos and paint some more reminders of our cruise. For those interested the cruise line was Silverseas and the ship the Spirit. All really lovely!
I hope you enjoy these paintings, and if you have been to these beautiful places that they will serve as a reminder, if you have yet to go there I know you will enjoy the whole area of the Adriatic.
Happy travelling and painting.
Brian
Dubrovnik from our cruise ship
A little beach near Dubrovnik
Cavtat in Croatia
Piran in Slovenia
The Rialto Bridge in Venice
Gondolas in Venice. Painted on a previous visit
Just off the Grand Canal in Venice. Painted on a previous visit.
Back to the Sun, a week on the Cote d’Azur
Hi Everybody
How nice it is to see the sun on daily basis. That was how our week this May was back at our favourite haunt of the Cote d’Azur!
Not very hot but lovely and dry with the sun breaking through nearly all day.
The combination of scenery, the beautiful Esterel Coast, and the mountains of Provence make this a wonderful part of the world.
We even ventured into Cannes where the mayhem of the preparations for the Cannes Film Festival were well underway, but nobody asked for our autogragh!
We weren’t sorry to be leaving before the Festival started but just a short way from Cannes calm reigns and the roads are peacefulful and beautiful in all directions.
Even time for some quick sketches for future, hopefully larger, paintings.
These watercolours are all just 8 by 5 inches in size and quickly painted after taking some photos, or recalling previous Provence scenery.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I have in painting them.
If you have read the guide books on another page of this blog you will know that we are very familiar with this enchanting part of France. The local wines, predominantly Rose but also some light and fruity Reds are a great complement to some really good restaurants, some of which we visited again on this trip. If you are ever in Fayence do go to Table d’Yves , one of the finest restaurants we have found in this part of the region.
Happy travelling and if the sun is out where you are enjoy that too!
Brian
Sunset over the Vineyard
Antibes
House in Provence
The Esterel Mountains near Agay
Lavender fields in Haut Provence
Farm and Vineyard
The Castle at La Napoule
Sailing boats off the Esterel Coast
At last the sun is out!
Horsmonden Church and Oasts in the Weald
Watercolour 11 inches by 6.5
This winter it seemed as if the rain would never stop, then late last week and since the weather in the South of England has really improved and the sun has been shining.
It inspired me to get out and go to the Weald of Kent and there, near Horsmonden Church your will find this Springtime scene. I hope you like my interpretation of it!
The Church dedicated to St Margaret is about 2 miles from the Village centre. This is attributed to the centre of the village moving in the 17th Century to where a foundry had been established by John Browne. It was a large employer and the village thus migrated to be nearer the foundry. The foundry closed in 1685, but the village has remained at the Heath.
The term Weald is an old English word for Forest as this area was once heavily forested, even today there are many fine woods and copses across the area.
Anyway I hope wherever you are the weather is fine, we certainly hope it stays fine here and everywhere will get a chance to recover from all that winter rain.
Enjoy your travels
Brian
When you are on a roll!
Hi Everyone,
I had such nice comments about my last post, “A New Venture” and the guide book to the Cote d’Azur that I thought that I should follow this up quickly with the second book in the series.
This new book is about Ulster, the most northerly Province of Ireland and becomes number 2 in the series “Travels with a Brush”. I hope you will like this one too. It is dedicated to my Mother in Law, Sadie, who died last year and who loved this beautiful part of Ireland, especially the Antrim Coast which is the first Chapter of the book.
I am waiting for the book to appear on the Apple iBook store but for non iPad users there is a PDF version at the top of this post which can be viewed and downloaded.
Once again all comments would be most welcome as that will help me with updates and subsequent volumes in the series.
I hope you enjoy looking through it and if you haven’t been to this part of the world, put it into your future itineraries!
Happy travelling and painting
Brian Tucker
A New Venture!
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
Brrr! It’s Cold outside!
Well folks, here we are in December and it is getting decidedly chilly!
Soon they tell us the snow will arrive. It always makes for interesting watercolour scenes!
So here is post of some Snow Scenes, some new and some from my archives, with just hint of the warm sun that will one day return!
Christmas will soon be here, so my best Wishes to you all and a Happy New Year painting!
We have a few trips planned for 2014 and they will provide watercolours for next years blogs.
Thanks for all your support this year and enjoy these paintings and the coming festivities!
“Yule”ly yours
Brian
First snow in Provence
Gourdon in provence in the snow
The Frozen Fountain at Mons in Provence
Rye in Kent at Christmas
Horsmonden in Kent
Snow at Leeds Castle in Kent
Kent, Minster Abbey on the Isle of Sheppey
St Margaret’s Church at Barming in Kent
A village in Kent
Mount Cook in New Zealand- Lucky for them it’s Summer there now!
And so for a bit of sunshine! This December we were lucky enough to be able to sit on the Quay at Villefranche sur Mere on the Cote d’Azur and enjoy sunshine while we ate lunch. This is the view from there across to Cap Ferrat.
Cap Ferrat from Villefranche
A Weekend in Cornwall
Recently we were able to spend a long weekend in Cornwall, firstly with some good friends in Rock, and then at a lovely hotel at Carbis Bay near St Ives.
Cornwall has the loveliest coast and wonderful little harbours and towns dotted along the spectacular cliffs and bays.
There wasn’t much time to paint but here are the few that I managed to get done both during and since the visit.
You could spend a lifetime exploring the coast of Cornwall, so these few days were great reminder of holidays of many years ago, and an opportunity to enjoy our friends’ company and eat some great food.
If you are going to St Ives do look up the Boskerris Hotel, really very nice indeed.
From a genuine Rick Stein Cornish pasty in Padstow to exceptional food at Nathan Outlaw’s restaurant in Rock this was very enjoyable weekend, and we were fairly lucky with the weather too!
I hope you too like these paintings of the area. I don’t think I can quite get to the standard of the galleries in St Ives but painting these watercolours was great fun.
Enjoy your travels too!
Brian
Port Quin on the North Coast. 11inches by 7
The surfers bay at Polzeath. 11 inches by 7
St Ives Harbour. 11 inches by 7
Priest’s Cove near Lands End. 11 inches by 7
A very quick watercolour of St Ives. 8 inches by 5
The Blue Danube, Update 2
Budapest
Hi Everbody
Well, here we are at the end of September with Autumn fast approaching, at least it is here in the UK.
We have just returned from a river cruise with great friends along the Danube, starting in Budapest and finishing after a coach journey in Prague.
My plan is to start this blog off with some quick watercolours painted on the cruise and then add some more as updates later on. For those interested in the technical side of the watercolours, the originals are mostly are about 12 by 7 inches, and are painted on Arches 300lb cold pressed paper.
Alas, the weather wasn’t brilliant but the sights along the way and in the cities we visited were lovely. Of course the Danube is not at all blue but my watercolours do show the area with finer weather and a nice blue tinge to the water. At least watercolours can improve the weather, unlike the photos!
Budapest is always a fine city,with Pest on side of the river and old Buda rising above on the other bank. Visit the market if you are there as well as the old parts on the towns. To get up to Buda always use the funicular railway from the end of the Chain bridge. It is great ride.
The view across to the Pest portion of Budapest from the Buda castle.
Old Buda and the Chain bridge, viewed from the Pest side of the City.
This time we also spent a morning at a little riverside town about 12 miles away called Zentendre, (Saint Andrews). This is delightful spot well worth the visit with is incredible marzipan museum and lovely Churches and streets.
The Danube was quite high when were on it but thankfully not flooding as it had in June of this year.
From Budapest our first major City visited was Bratislava. Unlike Budapest we had not visited Bratislava before. It is a delightful, compact city with interesting buildings and palaces to visit. The city is dominated by a huge castle, very visible from the river as shown in this next painting. I regret I didn’t walk right up to the castle, as from there the views of the city must be great.
Bratislava Castle viewed from the Danube
From Bratislave our next stop was at Vienna. Vienna is such a magnificent City. Everwhere you go there are tremendous houses, Palaces and Museums. My paintings of Vienna will be part of the update to this blog so I hope you will see them in while. However while in Vienna do eat the wonderful cakes and, as we did, find some great Wiener Schnitzel !
From Vienna the Danube passes many pleasant towns and villages and soon we were at Durnstein, a “Chocolate Box” town right on the bank of the river. It has a beautiful Church and Monastery and a ruined castle above the town where Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) was held captive in 1193.
After Durnstein the Danube passes through the beautiful Wachau valley with it’s Churches, towns and castles. Often these are perched high above the river, where they have commanding views of the river. The Wachau valley is the Danube as one might imagine it and soon Melk Abbey comes into view. Regrettably we didn’t have time to stop and visit it on this cruise but I do believe it is magnificent. It is certainly huge and can be seen for some distance as you pass along the river.
From the large locks near Melk the journey to Linz is quite short. Linz, the town famous for the creation of Linzer torte, we took a side tour to Cesky krumlov in the Czech republic. An alternative would have been a trip to Salzburg, but as we had visited there before (painting done some time ago below) we decided on Cesky Krumlov. We were not dissappointed. Cesky Krumlov turned out to be gem of a town, located on an ox bow bend of the river Vitava with huge and very original castle and delightful town around it. If you are in this area do visit Cesky, you will really enjoy it.
Salzburg at night from the Salzach river
From Linz we then departed Austria for Passua in Germany. Passau is at the confluence of three rivers, the Danube from the west, the Inn from the south and the Liz from the north. As a result it has seen a number of severe floods with this year in June being the worst ever recorded. It is amazing how quickly the city has recovered, no doubt through much hard work.
In St Stephen’s Cathedral is the world’s largest cathedral organ with over 17000 pipes. Every day at 12 noon a 30 minute concert is played and is well worth going to,the sounds are amazing. Paintings of Passau too will be the subject of part 2 of this blog.
From Passau we travelled on to Regensburg, not all the way unfortunately on the Danube as water levels were too high, so the last part had to be by coach. Regensburg, in Germany is lovely , and again compact city, with a great history. More paintings to come later on.
From Regensburg we then travelled to Prague for a couple of days. Prague is nowadays a very busy City , and sadly the throngs of people limit the charm of the Old Town Square and the Charles bridge. However it does have great sights to see and the view of the Charles Bridge is always terrific, both in the day and at night.
The Charles bridge in Prague
Evening on the Charles Bridge in Prague
I don’t think this quick sketch of Old Town Square does it justice but over the next few months I will have the chance to paint some more views of this fine city.
Old Town Square in Prague
And so our holiday came to an end, great time with our great friends, roll on the next one!
I hope you have enjoyed these early watercolours of our trip. They gave me much pleasure painting them and they may recall your own memories of the beautiful river Danube and the countries it passes through.
Happy travels
Brian
