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Stormy on the Antrim Coast!
Stormy seas at Portballintrae. Watercolour 18 inches by 8. The sea was so white with the spume created by the 70 miles an hour winds!
A very nice few days in Northern Ireland , but accompanied by a fairly fierce storm meant our trips around beautiful Ulster were a little curtailed , but very enjoyable none the less.
Meeting up with family and friends was of course great and the storm did give a somewhat different view of the Antrim coast.
However intermingled with our trips there was a little time to paints some sketches and take a lot of photos to paint when back in the studio.
The header painting is of the storm raging at Portballintrae, which is a delightful sea side town not far from Portrush and The Giants Causeway, although the weather put paid to any thoughts of a visit to it’s amazing hexagonal rocks!
Nearby is Bushmills with it famous Whiskey Distillery, and as we drove from there to Portrush the sea spray was coming over the road across the 100 foot cliffs, very spectacular!
So here are my sketches of a few places we visited
Glenarm with it’s Castle , Barbican and the river running into the harbour is a very nice small seaside town, with a great Jewellery Shop (Steensons) to retreat into when the rain and wind arrive!
The Barbican of Glenarm Castle. Watercolour sketch 8 inches by 10.
The Genarm river and st Patricks Church in Glenarm.watercolour sketch 10 inches by 8
In a break in the weather I managed to invent an Antrim Coast sunset, as they are very often really spectacukar, one of my 15 minute sketches.
Just beyond Portrush on the Antrim Coast lies the really nice seaside town and popular holiday resort of Portstewart. Not as busy as Portrush but a really nice place to visit.
Just for fun I have included paintings of two my favourite scenes painted during previous visits, which are Ballycastle and the Mourne mountains near Newcastle. I have resisted including more!
Fair Head on the Antrim Coast Watercolour on Canvas 24 by 12 inches
The Mourne Mountains from Murlough Bay near Dundrum. 21 by 9.5 inches
I know I have said it before but if you have never visted the Antrim Coast or even Northern Ireland then do so, it is spectacular and well worth it for so many reasons from The Titanic Centre, the Game of Thrones locations, to the coasts, the people and the food!
Happy travelling
Brian
You can see more of my watercolours at http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
Have look, there may be places you love and that you have visited.
Return to The Côte d’Azur!
The Bay of Cannes , a quick sketch 27 by 25 cms
There is no doubt that we love The Côte d’Azur.
The warmth, the scenery, the great wines and food and the people make this one of the finest parts of France to visit at any time in the year but in the summer it is glorious, if a bit busy!
We spent some time in a lovely house at Les Adrets d’Esterel with a magniificent view o the Bay of Cannes to admire both by day and night as the lights of Cannes shimmer.
And time to paint some new watercolours of the region and a couple during journey there.
I hope you will enjoy seeing them and if you know the area, recognise the views, or if you haven’t visited the Côte d’Azur then do put it on your bucket list!
First the view of the Bay of Cannes on a hot summers day. The Iles de Lerin are visible just off the coast.
The Bay of Cannes from Les Adrets. Watercolour 46 by 15 cms
This formal painting painted “en plain air” followed on from a sketch shown at the head of this post.
During July and August Cannes holds an International Fireworks competition and so I have attempted a watercolour of the fireworks finale to just try to capture the moment.
On our journey we passed some intesting parts of Provence and so here are few sketches captured first as a photo of those scenes, but with a lot of artistic licence as to the time of year!
A village with lavender in Provence.
A bridge near Castellane in Provence
Chapelle Philomena de Montague near Gap in Provence
Around the Côte d’Azur there are many great places to visit
In particular we love Antibes and also Vence.
Vence is very close to St Paul de Vence which has become very touristy alas, but Vence is a delightful old town, now being much restored and it has many quaint streets and restaurants in the old town.
The old town of Vence
Antibes
Cap d’Antibes
Further inland is the fine village of Cotinac, famous for it’s markets.
Near to Cannes and are the villages of Fayence, Sellians and Callian , all very well with visiting and nearby is Lac de Saint Cassein with it’s great water sporting facilities.
Here also is a new sketch of Tourrettes sur Loup,an amazing place to wander around. Just one of the many perched Villages of the area.
Tourrettes Sur Loup
To see more of my watercolours of Provence and the Côte d’Azur download my guide book which can be found on the Header page of this blog.
And please do visit http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours where a number of my Provence paintings can be purchased.
Happy travelling
Brian
A few days in Delightful Devon
The Cary Arms at Babbacombe, watercolour 36 by 25 cms.
Hi Everbody
We have just had a few days on the very sunny South Devon coast, staying at the lovely Cary Arms Hotel in Babbacombe Bay.
South Devon has many lovely places to visit and one of our favourites is Dartmouth and the River Dart.
Time too for a few watercolours ,sketces and a formal watercolour.
We also ate in two very good restaurants whilst there plus in our Hotel where the food is good too!
In Torquay I would recommend Amici, an Italian restaurant in the heart of the town.
In Babbacombe we would highly recommend The Waddling Duck at Hamiltons, just superb and good value too.
The National Trust property of Coleton Fairacre is for us one of the best in the Country , featuring an Art Deco House and stunning gardens looking out over the sea. My next subject for a sketch!
Anyway here are few watercolours and sketches
The River Dart near Dittisham. “Greenways”, Agatha Christie’s former home can bee seen across the river. Watercolour 36 by 21 cms.
The view from our Terrace at The Cary Arms. Sketch 22 by 18 cms
Paignton Harbour in Devon.Sketch 22 by 18 cms
Brixham Harbour, sketch
If you know South Devon then I hope you will enjoy seeing these paintings. If you haven’t been then do go, you will enjoy the many charms of the lovely area of England.
Happy travelling to you all!
Brian
Have a look at my Watercolour shops too!
http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
and
http://www.artgallery.co.uk/ Brian Tucker
Hot and lovely in Mauritius
Evening at Stag Mountain from Ile Aux Cerfs. Watercolour 12 inches by 10
We have just enjoyed some time once again in Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Escaping the UK winter weather was very nice and as ever we enjoyed the hospitality of the Country.
As well as enjoying the pools and the warmth I was able to find time to paint some watercolour sketches of the scenery of the Mauritian East Coast.
All of these we painted “en plein air” which is quite tricky when the temperature is over 30 degrees Centigrade. A bit higher that the -3 degrees C when we arrived back in the UK!
Some of these paintings were based on and inspired by the scenery of the beautiful Ile Aux Cerfs Golf club , which is made even more enjoyable by the 20 minute boat ride to get there as the Golf Course is on it own island.
Fishing boats at the Mauritian coast Watercolour sketch 10 by 9 inches
At the Beach. Watercolour sketch 10 by 9 inches
Mautitian Dawn. Watercolour sketch 9 inches by 9.
The view from the 12th green at Ole Aux Cerfs Golf Course. Watercolour sketch 10 inches by 9
Boats on the sand. Watercolour sketch 10 by 9 inches
I hope you have enjoyed this shirt post on our delightfull holiday
Remember you can see many more of my watercolours on http://www.Artfinder.com/brianswatercolours or on
Evening at The Shangri la , le Touessrok. Watercolour sketch. 10 inches by 9.
New Lake District watercolours
Hi Everyone
I have recently been painting some new watercolours of the Lake District of England. It is an area we have enjoyed visiting and we hope to again next year.
I am indebted to the site “Walk my World” for letting me use one of their Lake District photos of Lake Buttermere. Do visit their site as it is a great place to see more of their extensive travels. Thanks Cat and Joe.
I have included a few other watercolours painted previously to show some more places of this delightful part of England.
The view below of Buttermere is from near the Honister pass on the lower slopes of “Haystacks”
Lake Buttermere, Watercolour 46 by 31 cms
Lake Buttermere and Cummock Water in Winter
Grange in Borrowdale, watercolour 46 by 31 cms
Not far away is the little village of Grange in Borrowdale with it’s unusual twin arch bridge over the two branches of the River Derwent.
Near to the spot where the River Derwent enters Derwentwater this watercolour includes St Herberts island
Scafell Pike and Peak are so well known that I have had to include this watercolour of tem here and below this is a watercolour of yachts sailing on Lake Windermere
Scafell Pike and Peak
Lake Windermere
“Haystacks” behind Lake Buttermere
Here are some Lake District Bridges painted during previous visits.
Aira Force sketch
The house on the bridge at Ambleside
And finally a watercolour again of Buttermere, a lake that I find is a continuous source of inspiration for my paintings
Lake District Buttermere
There is no doubt that we are very lucky in this small island of Great Britain to have such wonderful places to visit and in my case to get inspiration for even more watercolours
Happy Travelling
Brian
Don’t forget that many of these watercolour are for sale on my internet shops.
In and Around The Mourne Mountains of Northern Ireland
The Shimna River near Newcastle and the Mourne Mountains. Watercolour sketch 11 inches by 8.
We have just returned from a very nice long weekend in Northern Ireland visiting friends and family and admiring the scenery. Alas it wasn’t great weather but even so still some time for some paintings and watercolour sketches, mostly imagined in sunnier weather!
This first painting however was painted a couple of weeks ago during the Irish Open Golf which was held this year at Royal County Down Golf Club, nestled below Slieve Donard (2790 feet high) in The Mourne Mountains. This course is arguably considered to be one of the best, if not the best, golf course in the World!
The 18th at Royal County Down Golf Club Watercolour 21 inches by 10.
The scenery is great and this watercolour, painted from sketches made whilst watching the golf on TV shows the view from the 18th Tee toward the Clubhouse and the Slieve Donard Hotel.
In Tollymore Forest park , accessed from near Newcastle, County Down , you will find Foley Bridge on one of the many great paths through the Forest.
Foley bridge in Tollymore Forest park. Watercolour sketch 11 inches by 9
Beyond Slieve Donnard , in the Mourne’s, near the Hilltown Road, is Trassey Bridge with views toward Slieve Bernagh.
Trassey bridge crosses the River Trassey, a tributary of the Shimna River. Watercolour sketch 11 by 8 inches.
Near Dundrum is Murlough Bay, just North of Newcastle and here I have sketched Downshire bridge viewed from the North with views across to the Mourne Mountains, Slieve Donard on the left.
Dundrum has also a great Restaurant with Rooms, The Buck’s Head with Alex Greene as Chef and co owned with Bronagh McCarmick. We had a really terrific lunch there using local ingredients. I can highly recommend it if you are there, and only 35 minutes from Belfast.(www.thebucksheaddundrum.co.uk)
Downshire Bridge,a watercolour sketch 11 by 8 inches
From there it isn’t to far to St John’s Point and it’s tall Lighthouse, the second tallest in Ireland I believe. This was imagined in brighter weather as the mist was impenetrable that day!
St John’s Point Lighthouse. Watercolour sketch 11 by 8 inches
Wherever you go around the Mourne’s the views are spectacular and the Town of Newcastle is well worth a visit too with its great promenade by the sea and the River Shimna.
Northern ireland is a great place to visit with its wonderful scenery and so many attractions to see. If you havent been , get it on your list of places to go!
Happy Travelling
Brian
PS Don’t forget you can see some of these and many more Irish watercolours on my Blog , http://www.brianswatercolours.blog and also at my shops on http://www.Artfinder.com/brianswatercolours and http://www.Art Gallery.co.uk/briantucker.
Revisiting the stunning Côte d’Azur
Hi Everybody
For many years we have loved visiting the Cote d’Azur in Southern France.
This year was no exception and so we have now returned from a great family holiday in a fine house near Mougins, not far from Cannes.
The weather was great and although it is a very busy time of year in that area we had a really great holiday.
And a little time to paint some new watercolours of the area!
This year we travelled by car over a few days to Mougins, enjoying the French scenery on the way, and on the way back the great scenery of the Alps on route to Grenoble.
On the way we paused at at Castle Mornas, a magnificent castle high above the Rhone.
Castle Mornas in Provence. Watercolour sketch 10 inches by 8
Near Orange I spied this harvest scene and so this sketch resulted of the harvest.
Later on in our holiday this sketch became the basis for larger watercolour of a Provence harvest scene
Harvest in Provence, sketch , 10 inches by 8.
Provence village at harvest time. Watercolour 18 inches by 12 on Arches 300gsm paper.
Mougins, near where we stayed is a very pretty village of winding streets and great restaurants, always worth a visit if you are nearby. Le Petit Fouet restaurant is to be recommended as is Rita in the lower town.
Towards Mougins, a watercolour sketch 10 inches by 8
Mougins , a sketch from a previous visit, 10 by 8 inches
One evening we had a great dinner in La Farigoulette Restaurant in Fayence. It is right at the top of the town and from there the views are wonderful. Here is sketch of that view with some of the many rooftops of this “perched” Provence Town.
The rooftops of Fayence. Watercolour sketch, 10 by 9 inches
Near Mougins is Cannes, and this watercolour tries to capture the scene of the Croisette there and the Esterel mountains in the distance. We love the drive from Cannes through la Napoule to Agay along the beautiful Esterel coast, one of the great Coastal drives in the World
An lately here isa watercolour of the lovely harbour at Cannes
Cannes and the Esterel Mountains. Watercolour 18 inches by 12 on Arches Watercolour paper.
And lastly here is a watercolour of Cannes Harbour with the colourful boats, and the old town of Le Suquet with its Castle and the Church of Notre Dame d’Esperance.
Cannes Harbour. Watercolour 14 inches by 10 on Arches watercolour paper
So home with many more photos to paint of our great holiday.
Happy travelling
Brian
PS
Don’t forget to look at my watercolour shops at
http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolour , or at
where many of my watercolours are for sale.
New watercolours while the sun shines in England!
Hi everybody
I have managed recently to produce some new watercolours, some of which are in exhibitions and others for friends or just for the pleasure of painting them. A few are copies of recent commissions which I have really enjoyed painting, and receiving the very generous responses from their new owners.
Paintings completed during our South East Open Studios event at “The Drawing Room” Gallery in West Malling.
Six local artist were exhibiting for all of June and we were delighted to welcome vistors and friends to the Gallery. Some sales were made as well I am pleased to say.
We each took turns to produce paintings in the shop front window which was a lot if fun. Here are the ones that I produced.
Dawn sky at Broadstairs in Kent
Godrevy Island in Cornwall
The Landgate in Rye in Kent
A very quick “en plein air” sketch of West Malling
Some recent Commissions
Three scenes of Lucca and the Tuscan countrysde
And one of Bosham in West Sussex
Here are a few recent watercolours painted just for the sheer pleasure of doing them.
Cape Cornwall
Eillean Donan Castle in Scotland
St Michael’s Mount in Cornwall
Storm clouds forming over Irish Cottages
I painted this Kent sunset for a local art club competition, but then found out the subject was “Birds”, so I added a flock of Lapwings!
I hope you will enjoy having a look at these recent watercolours and remember some are for sale on http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
Happy Travelling
Brian
Sun, Cyclones and a Great Holiday in Mauritius!
A Mauritian Sailing Boat at Sunset
We have stayed at The Shangi-La Le Touessrok on the East coast of Mauritius before and it is always a great place to be when the weather is cold and stormy in the UK.
This recent trip was no exception , even though we arrived at the end of one Cyclone and then another smaller on came along too. However that didn’t cause us any issues and the warm beautiful beaches and the lovely golf course at Ile Aux Cerf made every day a very warm and delightful experience. With temperatures well over 30C dipping in and out of the sea and the fabulous beach side pool was just the thing we needed in January!
Time too for some sketching, which is quite tricky in such heat, but it is fun to to be sitting on a sunbed juggling the sketchbook, paints and brushes. I use a 11 inch by 10 inch format 300 gsm sketchbook when travelling, and these watercolours were in Volume 13 of my “Travels with Brush” books!
So here are the very quick watercolour sketches done during the time we were there, some on the spot and some from photos taken and a couple from photos from previous visits to the resort.
Mauritius is a great and very friendly Island to visit. Nestled in the Indian Ocean, it is a long way from the UK but well worth the journey for the warm weather and relaxing way of life.
Happy Travelling
Brian
Happy Hour at the Beach bar!
Towards the Reef
Boats and Mountains
Sailing at sunset
Fishing Boats
Turquoise Sea and Surf
The End of 2023 , and a Happy New Year for 2024
Salisbury Cathedral
Hi Everybody
2023 has been a pretty busy year for my watercolour painting.
With over 90 watercolours and sketches completed and quite a few new destinations explored I have had a lot of fun. Lucky I am retired!
I hope that 2024 will be as good for my painting and rather better from some personal issues. Maybe, just, maybe a bit more peaceful across the World as well.
It would be too long a post to cover them all so I have selected some to reprise for this post.
It has been a good yoear too as I have been lucky enough to have some watercolours in a few exhibitions here in Kent, and whilst sales haven’t been high it is nevertheless very rewarding to know others are , hopefully , enjoying my work. On line sales have been low too, probably as a result if the current economic situations.
So here are a selection of this past years effirts, many have been on the posts before but gathered together this way may be interesting for you to see.
Studio and larger Watercolours
Kent
Lake District Buttermere
Fair Head
Mournes from Murlough Bay
The Regatta
Leigh on sea dawn
Scotney Castle
Rye from the Marshes
Bluebell Woods
Bluebell Woods
Antibes
Drôme le Provencal
Lake Windermere
In The Lake District
Pin Mill 64 by 30
Sketches and Pen and Wash Watercolours
Mousehole
West Malling 1890
Augusta the 12th
Provence Pont Madame
In the Peak District
Peak District
Coombesgate Bay Devon
Semi abstract and very large Watercolours
Bamburgh Castle
Irish cottages by the sea
The Lighthouse 80 by 20 cms
Fens, 80 by20 cms
The Shore
The Mourne Mountains
Dawn
The Beach
Bamburg Castle Dawn
We are looking forward to 2024 and with some further a field travels planned I hope there will be lots of opportunities for more painting and Blog Posts too.
I have also been asked to do a few demonstarions to painting groups and I now feel confident enough to take on these skighlty daunting tasks. Painting and talking about the orocess to other very competenet artusts will be n exciting challenge.
in April I will be mounting a month ling solo show of my Paintings at aLibrary in Crambrookin Kent and I am really looking forward to that, and I hope to continue to exhilit at some local Galleries. What fun!
The past year also saw me try painting some semi abstract watercolours and I plan to continue with more of these from time to time.
Large ,over one metre, watercolours are tricky but very exciting as the speed of the work has to be quite high, watch this space for some more
In the mean time Best Wishes for 2024
Happy Travelling
Brian
Buying my Watercolours
Most available watercolours can be seen on http://www.artfinder.com/brianswatercolours
Some are also for sale on http://www.artgallery.com
In Kent in the UK some watercolours and prints are being exhibited and are for sale at “The Drawing Room Gallery” in West Malling and at The Creek Gallery in Faversham.
Or email me and I can advise how to purchase anything you see if it is still available and of course Commissions can n be made through Artfinder too!
Brian
