Blog Archives
September – Variations
During the past few weeks we have been back to the South of France, enjoying there some fabulous September weather and on returning to the UK finding that fine weather here too.
It has given me some time for a variety of subjects, some familiar, some new and some of scenes that I like to paint and hope one day to get it a bit more as I would like it to be.
So I thought I would share these with you , at least you know I have not been idle, even if the finished results aren’t quite as I had hoped!
In France, I found that I had what I thought was a nice pad of watercolour paper, but after finishing this painting I realised that it was not up to the quality I normally use, and so the paper effect isn’t too nice although the subject worked quite well in this format. The painting ,of the Iles de learn off the coast of Cannes, is about 20 inches by 8 so a bit larger than normal.
Yachts racing by the Iles de Lerin. Watercolour 20 by 8 inches.
Whilst in France we were lucky enough to be in Cannes and St Tropez when some of the largest yachts were in harbour for their regattas.
“J” Class yachts prepare for the race at St Tropez
I love the shape and lines of the huge “J” Class yachts and so this next painting of them preparing for races in St Tropez is the result. Not often are the St Tropez quay side buildings visible from across the harbour as large motor cruisers usually block the view, but not this time! Whilst in St Tropez we had lunch at Port de Peche and so here is that little harbour at the back of St Tropez, one of my favourite places in the South of France, and one that I have tried to paint on quite a few occasions!
Port de peach at St Tropez. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
Back in the UK I spent a day painting “en plain air” at the Seven Sisters cliffs in East Sussex.
I find it tricky painting outside in the sun but I did manage these two paintings of these spectacular cliffs.
More recently I have painted this smaller watercolour of Mermaid Street in Rye , also in East Sussex.
The Mermaid Inn, an old Smugglers Tavern, is on the right and whose sign you can see. It has the wonderful inscription outside which reads “Rebuilt in 1407”. Now there is history for you!
The Mermaid Inn in Rye
I hope you will enjoy these September variations.
Happy travelling
Brian
Scotney Castle, a beautiful spot in Kent
Hi Everybody
Last week we had the pleasure of a visit from some very good friends from the USA. It was an opportunity to explore some places in the South East of England that they hadn’t visited before.
One of these was Scotney Castle, today a National Trust property quite near to us in the heart of Kent.
It has a fine Victorian house which itself it well worth visiting as it was lived in by the former owner until 2006 and has all the furnishings and items as it was at that time, a time capsule of two hundred years worth of the family’s history.
However the other jewel of Scotney Castle is the ruined castle situated on a small island in the middle of the lake at the heart of the estate. In spring the walk to the Castle and the surrounding area is bursting with Azaleas and Rhododendron bushes of all colours and fine perennial plants and trees.
It is painter’s paradise and has been the subject of my watercolours before.
This visit revealed some new aspects to me and so this watercolour shows both the Castle by the lake and the Victorian House on the hill above.
The second painting from last year shows another aspect of the Castle in spring time.
If you are in Kent do visit Scotney, it is a truly beautiful place.
I hope you enjoy this short post.
Happy Travelling!
Brian
Scotney castle and the Victorian House in the Spring
Scotney Castle
One view, two paintings!
Hi All
Ah, Venice!
What a wonderful City, such views, such enigma, such a great place to go!
I am very lucky as we have been there quite a few times and it never dissappoints.
The crowds in St Mark’s Square may seem overwhelming, but, at almost any time of the day, just a few minutes away is a quiet backwater canal with beautiful bridges, little squares, beautiful Palazzos and waterfront cafes. We have spent hours wandering through these parts of Venice before emerging back at the bustle of the Riva Schiavone. From here walk along the lagoon to Riva Sette Martiri where the whole expanse of that part of the lagoon can be seen.
Over the years I have painted quite a few Venice scenes, but alas I have never been able to have the time to sit and quietly paint whilst there. It always seems to be from photographs.
But this post isn’t about all those other paintings, they can be for another time.
This post is about just that one view across the lagoon from Riva Sette Martiri where you can see the beautiful scene of San Giorgio Maggiore and to the right the entrance to the Grand Canal which is dominated by the Santa Maria della Salute.
These 16 inch by 12 watercolours have been painted in the studio from a mixture of photos from previous visits.
Here are the two paintings of that same scene.
The first on a cool spring day and the second that same scene as sunset approaches.
Venice – Across the Lagoon to San Giorgio Maggiore. Watercolour 16 inches by 12.
Venice at Sunset – Across the Lagoon to San Giorgio Maggiore. Watercolour 16 inches by 12.
I will be back there!
I hope you like them.
Happy travelling.
Brian.
Thames Barges and a Sunderland Flying Boat!
I do like to paint fairly vibrant landscapes and seascapes and normally they are watercolours on 300gsm Rough Arches Paper. The first painting is on Arches Hot Pressed 300gsm paper which leads itself to this softer wash type painting.
However this post is just a little different and features Thames Barges, and as an update now includes a SHORTS Sunderland Flying Boat!
I have included this new painting of Rochester in Kent showing some barges and the scene as it may have been the late 1930’s when the Shorts Sunderland Flying boats were designed and built by the River Medway at Rochester. They were designed in the 1930s and first flew in 1937. Based on the Shorts S23 Empire flying boats, the Flagship of Imperial Airways it was re-engineered for military use, and was used extensively in the Second World War. 777 were produced in the years 1937 to 1946.
The next painting of Thames Barges is titled is “Waiting for the Tide” and is 16 inches by 12.
Waiting for the Tide. A watercolour.
Barge passing Upnor Castle in Kent
This 3rd painting is hot off the press having been painted recently too! It shows a Thames barge passing by Upnor Castle on the River Medway, not too far from my studio. Again painted on Hot Pressed paper and 16 inches by 12.
The fourth painting is much more in my normal style and is of Barge at Hollowshore, here in Kent in the UK. It was painted a couple of years ago. It is on Rough 300gsm Arches paper and is 14 inches by 10.
A Thames Barge at Hollowshore in Kent.
This painting is of Faversham creek where barges were once seen in their dozens.
Barges at Faversham
The last painting was painted many years ago and is on a medium smooth paper and is about 18 inches by 10.
I don’t think I would paint it like this today (busy sky, busy boats and busy sea) but again it is Thames Barges, this time racing in the Thames Estuary.
The Barge Race.
I hope you like this post and its updates. Thames barges are always a wonderful sight to see around our coast. Alas Sunderland flying boats are now not seen flying but one I believ is in amuseum in Florida.
Happy Travelling
Brian
Spring on the Cote d’Azur
Hi Folks
We have just returned from lovely week with friends in the south of France on the Cote d’Azur.
It is remarkable how advanced all the trees and plants are there at this time of year. The trees are covered in leaves and many roses are in full bloom already. Spring warmth is really noticeable and we had fine weather although some days had a little wind as well as sun.
Two highlights were a trips to Antibes, St Tropez by the St Maxime ferry and a few hours at the Honey Festival in Mouans-Sartoux, a small town about 10 miles from Cannes. There, many honey producers had stalls and were selling their honey, prominently Lavender honey of course as it is Provence after all!
There were also lots of other things to see including the Chateaux, and some fine jazz was being played in the square whilst we sat and enjoyed some coffee.
Only a few paintings on this trip but hopefully you will like them. First of all painting of a yacht sailing past as we approached St Tropez on the ferry. Just little bit of artistic license to get the positioning right of course!
A yacht sailing off St Tropez. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
We always seem to visit Antibes to stroll around the walls and visit the markets held there. So once agin a painting of the spring scene from the coast showing Antibes and the mountains behind still with snow on their peaks. I couldn’t resist adding the painter in the foreground just for fun!
Antibes in the Spring sun.
And lastly a painting of the poppies in the fields in a village in the Provence countryside. Don’t search for the village though as it may not really exist! It was the poppies at a roadside that inspired this painting. Out much earlier that in England they looked so elegant in the sun.
Poppies in Provence
I hope you enjoy this short post.
If you are new to my blog please also visit my Guide Book Page above for this region of France, or look for Brian Tucker on the iBook store. They are free!
Happy travelling
Brian
A Weekend in Amsterdam.
Tulip Fields and a Windmill in the Netherlands inspired by a postcard I saw which is I believe from an original photo by Jaap Hart.
Hi Everybody
We have just had the pleasure of a long weekend in Amsterdam with some good friends.
It was really very enjoyable and our travel on Eurostar was excellent as was the hotel we stayed in called the INK Hotel. It was only about 15 minutes walk from the Central Station and is very good, I would recommend it if you are there. I would also recommend three restaurants too that we found whilst there. They were Haesje Claes, a great Dutch food restaurant, Indrapura, a terrific Indonesian style restaurant with music and BakkersWinkel a great place for breakfast near to our hotel.
As well as looking around Amsterdam and taking a Canal tour we spent a day at Keukenhof Gardens where each spring they display their fabulous collections of flowers but especially Tulips. These displays of Tulips are nothing short of fantastic!
So in amongst the eating, walking, and museum visits, I managed just two very quick watercolours of the buildings of Amsterdam and one of some bulb fields and countryside which was inspired by a postcard I saw in the shops!
The building ones are in a style I don’t often employ using pen and ink and washes which seemed appropriate for these subjects.
Amsterdam Houses by a Canal
Houses and Shops by a Canal in Amsterdam
I hope you will like these and our Amsterdam recommendations
Happy travelling!
Brian
A few days in France
Hi
We have just spent a few days in the South of France sorting out one or two things at our apartment. With some rainy as well as sunny weather there was just time for couple of watercolours, one from a photo in a newspaper which caught my eye as a basis for a painting and one from an earlier photo of the beach at Juan les Pins. I wish our few days had all been as sunny as the Juan les Pins painting but after all it is February!
I hope you like them both and maybe I will be able to post again soon.
Heres looking forward to Spring
Brian
Juan les Pins
Places I would really like to visit !! A occasional series of Watercolours. Number 1.
Hi All
Followers of this site will know that I love to travel and to paint watercolours of the places that we have visited.
Occasionally I paint watercolours of places that I haven’t visited , but they may have been visited by friends or people who have asked me to paint a watercolour of a particular place.
Painting these watercolours always leads to me wishing that I might visit and holiday there and paint on the spot!
Sometimes just the planning can be a great way to get there ahead of yourself!
So I thought that now and again I would publish a blog post with a few of these “other places” for you to have look at too.
You could almost say this is my bucket list for the future, but in reality my bucket list is far longer than these watercolours portray.
Many thanks to all our friends ,colleagues, and family for these ideas of future travel and the pleasure that I have had painting “Watercolours from THEIR Travels”!
This month I have picked three places from the ever increasing list. The first one is of Lake Como in Italy, then the South Island of New Zealand, and finally Lake Bled in Slovenia.
First of all Lake Como
I painted this small watercolour as reminder for some friends who had sent me postcard of their stay in Bellagio. We have visited Lake Maggiore and Lake Garda which are very beautiful, but we have not yet been Lake Como. The town of Bellagio looks so delightful so I am sure it will make a great holiday destination, and a base for water taxis around the Lake.
Bellagio on Lake Como.
Watercolour,painted in 2011.
The second place I have chosen for this months blog is in the South island of New Zealand. We have visited the South Island a few years ago and had a wonderful holiday there with friends playing golf and sightseeing, but we were there for only a few weeks and never made it to the Fox Glacier, or the Haast Highway as it winds its way through the Southern Alps of New Zealand . The Haast Highway is thus the subject of this painting. Again painted as a momento for some good friends who did manage to get there it tries to capture the scale on the huge mountains in that part of New Zealand.
Haast Highway in New Zealand. Watercolour,painted in 2010.
Finally for this Post I have chosen a very beautiful place that I really do want to visit.
This is Lake Bled in Slovenia. We have visited the Coastal area of Slovenia, where we found the food and wine terrific and the people very friendly. It is beautiful Country. Two groups of our friends have been to Lake Bled and this larger painting tries to capture the beauty of the Church on the Island in Lake Bled. Bled Castle can be seen in the distance and the Julian Alps are behind.. The Church, a Pilgrimage one, is dedicated to the “Assumption of Mary” and is also used for weddings as well as visits. The church has a 52 m (171 ft) tower and there is a Baroque stairway built in 1655 with 99 stone steps leading up to the building. (don’t try to count my steps, they may not all be there!)
Lake Bled. Watercolour 14 inches by 10. Painted in 2015
I hope you have enjoyed seeing these paintings of really nice places to visit. Some more another time.
Note to self…..I must get the planning underway!
Brian
Holiday in France, A Journey in Watercolours
Hi Everybody
We have just spent a lovely few weeks in France, both in Provence and the Lot et Garonne, and a lot of places in between!
Very hot weather and lovely times with friends and family , at the pool, on the beaches, in the mountains, and visiting some beautiful places as we travelled around.
Now back I can get down to creating a blog of the paintings I managed to fit in during our travels, and I hope you will enjoy looking at them. In such hot weather watercolour paintings becomes a bit tricky and speed is really necessary if the paint is not to dry out too quickly. Of course many photos have yet to make it to watercolours but over the next few months I should be able to produce some more!
The Lot and Garonne is a quiet part of France in the South West, not far from Bordeaux in the Aquitaine region. It has many lovely small towns and villages and wonderful rolling countryside covered in farms and homes. It is popular as a holiday home , or permanent home for many UK people who enjoy the relaxed life style of the region.
In the past we have visited this area quite few times and this time we once again stayed with some good friends who live there all the time.
I have included a painting in this blog from previous visits to give you flavour of the towns and villages.
Of course our first stop was at our usual haunt on the Cote d’Azur where the temperatures were really high. I managed a few paintings whilst there and these are some of them.
Evening in Haut Provence. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
A Yacht approaching St Tropez. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
Yachts racing at St Tropez. Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
And so to the Lot et Garonne
Quite near where we were staying is the market town of Villeneuve sur Lot.
It has a good position at the river and this watercolour shows the view back towards the town.
Villeneuve sur Lot
Only a few kilometres from Villeneuve is the small village of Pujols en Haut. This is one of the prettiest villages in the region and maybe in all of France. A good place to browse,have coffee and admire the lovely Village. Pujols was sacked many centuries ago which apparently led to the creation of Villeneuve.
International banners flying in Pujols en Haut. Watercolour 14 by 10 inches.
One of the features of the towns in Lot et Garonne is that many are Bastide Towns. They often have a surrounding wall and are laid out in a regular pattern. One such town, and one well worth visiting, is Monpazier, this painting was done on a previous visit but it gives a flavour of the Town Square in the centre of Monpazier.
The Square in Monpazier. Watercolour 12 by 9 inches.
After visiting Lot et Garonne we returned to Fayence in Provence for another great weekend with friends.
Fayence is a hill town and boasts many fine restaurants nearby. We really love “Temps de Cerise” and “La Table d’Yves” where the food served and the service are just great.
Enjoy your travels
Brian
Fayence. Watercolour 9 inches by 7.
More Painting in The South of France
Hi Everybody
Painting in the South of France is such a delight!
We had been in Normandy recently but last week we were back in Provence staying on the Cote d’Azur.
The weather was spectacular, hot as the middle of summer, the skies blue, and the sea a shimmering Azur.
So time for some painting!
I wanted to finish a sketch of Honfleur I had started in Normandy but with a Regatta theme.
Painting watercolours in the lovely heat of Provence means working very quickly as the watercolours dry so quickly!
Honfleur, the Barge Regatta.
Watercolour 14 inches by 10.
If you are on the Cote d’Azur then lunch on the Quai at Villefranche is a great way to start a holiday.
Sitting in the sun at one of the restaurants by the quay is such a lovely experience. We really like “TRASTEVERE”, where the staff are great and the food excellent.
This painting, from a photo taken that day serves as reminder of that lunch! By the Quai is the little Church decorated inside by Jean Cocteau, do spend some time there as it is a quite remarkable.
The Quai at Villefranche.
Watercolour 14 by 10.
In quiet moments I can sit and paint from reference photos and memories of other visits. This time was no exception and these three paintings come under that category.
The little farm houses and the hills and fields of Provence are a constant inspiration in the bright and clear light of the landscape.
Here are two paintings of the Lavender and Vines of Haut Provence and one of the Iles d’Or, a tiny island with castle tower between Agay and St Raphael on the Esterel peninsula.
Vines and Poppies in Haut Provence.
Watercolour 14 by 10 inches
The Lavender Farm.
Watercolour 14 by 10 inches.
Ile d’Or near St Raphael. Watercolour 14 by 10 inches.
This week we had some friends staying with us and so we all took the ferry from St Maxime to St Tropez. The bustle of the main port and the huge yachts and boats is so contrasted by the calm as you walk round the corner to Porte de Peche and the view from the Tour Portalet, which is just at the Harbour.
The view from the Tour Portalet at St Tropez. Watercolour 14 by 10 inches
There are some good places to eat at “Le Ponche”, just 100 yards from the main harbour and the little port is delightful. Try the omelettes at “Le PeS Quiere”, really good!
I love to paint this scene, so as well as the view from Tour Portalet I have included a previous painting of The Porte de Peche too. I hope you enjoy them and visit this quieter part of St. Tropez.
Porte de Peche at St Tropez.
Watercolour 14 by 10 inches.
