Latest Painting

This painting of my Grandad's fob watches doesn't really suit the gallery where I usually exhibit, but I really wanted to paint them. He was a Railway Guard on British Rail

Brittany's Beached Boats

In the late Summer, we had a wonderful three weeks in that glorious weather that would have made any holiday perfect. We thought we would try to see the quite a bit of the interior of France instead of just the coast. So we bought a Vauxhall Vivaro that already had a folding bed in the back. We added our alcohol cooker and potta potti from Strix and we were away. We went across on the Plymouth to Roscoff ferry. 
We went as far East as the Loire Valley at Saumur and as far South as Rochefort. Ile de Re was a wonderful place and if we won the lottery we might stay there quite a while.
Brittany is the best place for beached wrecks, which I love to paint, and for boats in general. 

Duoarenez maritime museum was worth visiting. 

Cameret has always been a favourite spot, it was our first stop crossing the Channel in our own boats. The fishing boats slowly decaying in Cameret's harbour are lovely subjects. The fisherman's chapel is one of best churches I've been in, with it's calm atmosphere, model ships and other votives.

I'll be taking these paintings to Waterside Gallery on St Mawes at the weekend.

Summer Sailing

I've named this post Summer Sailing, but it would be more truthful to say Summer Lazing. We have spent more time at anchor just relaxing in the cockpit enjoying this fantastic weather. Cornwall has no equal when the sun shines. I have managed to quite a few paintings, so I haven't been too laid back.

I did these sketches to illustrate reflection (top) and shadow (bottom)

Just got an e-mail from James at Waterside Gallery St.Mawes to say that he has sold a triptych of

 coast walk views and the painting of a crab fisherman in Porthleven that featured in an earlier blog. 

Falmouth Working Boat

In October we have an Oyster Festival here in Falmouth, where a lot of 'shucking' goes on along with well known chefs doing cooking demonstrations.
Alongside the quay there was an interesting Falmouth Working Boat called Alf Smythers,  which is still being  used for oyster dredging. I did a quick sketch before the rain came in heavy, and luckily managed to take a few photos on my phone.
The oysters in the River Fal are only allowed to be dredged for under sail or by oar, in other words- not with an engine. This is a sustainable and eco friendly fishery, and it's the traditional way too. Last week I met Ranger who is the skipper of Alf Symthers, and he was happy to hear of the sketching. Here is a link to his new website cornish native oysters for more details of how they work.

During the last month I have painted a triptych of Alf Symthers, showing her from different views. I have been doing quite a few sets of three recently of different subjects and they sold as soon as they were hung in the gallery!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I haven't been able to get online much this summer, but now with our mobiles  now having a 1GB instead of 100MB means we can use the laptop.

 Luckily the last paintings I took to Waterside Gallery are selling well, I wasn't sure how they would go, but when framed and hanging on the gallery wall I was pleased how colourful they looked. 

I have spent the last few weeks painting a few watercolours, the best times were being able to do this sat in the cockpit in the sunshine. I have also been trying write up my sketchbook journal about our Camino that we did in June. We have had some perfect sails in the local area, which can't be beaten for boating when the weather is fine. Magical nights at anchor up the River Fal with tawny owls making the odd hoot.

Latest Paintings taken to Waterside Gallery St. Mawes, Cornwall

These are a few of the paintings I have been experimenting with recently, along with my usual watercolours of local scenes and boat details. When shopping at a Breton market last year, I was fascinated with the striped awnings of the stalls, bright colours of fruit and glistening fish, together with my admiration of the Scottish Colourists, made this work a real pleasure. When I showed them to the gallery owner to ask his opinion, he took six there and then to have them framed , which is very encouraging. The first one I did in this style was for the Twitterart exhibit and it sold straightaway, so you may see more bright work here soon.

Gweek Boatyard

I heard yesterday that Luke Powell's building of Scilly Pilot Cutters has come to an end at Gweek and there is no sign of his workshop having been there. All things change, but I used to love to watch the progress of each boat in construction and then to see them sailing. A friend lent me Luke's beautiful book Working Sail last month, I wish I could have kept it! http://www.workingsail.co.uk/new-book/ . The above painting is from couple of years ago, and if there are any keen health and safety inspectors looking the fellow was wearing a dust mask, but the romantic in me changed that!

In Need Of TLC

This is the other picture from my latest painting sessions, a watercolour of a boat passing through, on her way to being renovated by new owners. It would be nice to think that maybe next time I see her, she will be under full sail in the bay.

Detail of an Old Fishing Boat

I have been busy this last week, this one of two boat pictures I have enjoyed painting. I love the rust and peeling paint on old fishing boats that are past their prime,you find them on the shoreline or hiding up creeks here on the River Fal.

Thinking of Spring!

Here in Cornwall , there hasn't been a day without rain or a threat of some kind of damp weather for ages.

So I thought I would do an ink drawing of a couple of hares springing about in Spring, to help me to feel more positive about the winter ending soon.

 I used videos to watch hares in action, unfortunately I haven't seen them boxing myself, as they are so  fast I don't think I could sketch that quick!

 I do rough drawings on tracing paper first as the hot pressed watercolour paper I use is delicate, there is no way you can erase marks without damaging the surface.

 The plus side of tracing paper is you can move things around to help with composition, even move the subject back to front. In this picture I drew the hares on individual A4 sheets.

 

Christmas Sketches

In a pub in Truro just before Christmas, there was a party in full swing complete with the paper hats, we were sat in a corner quietly drinking a glass of wine. I was able to do a couple of sketches, happily unnoticed by the revellers.

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy 2013

Twitterartexhibit at Los Angeles have just received this watercolour painting as my contribution to their exhibition. The first one was in Norway, now it is growing, so it has moved to the USA. All the submissions are postcard size and the proceeds go to charity, a great idea that all different kinds of artists from all around the world are being inspired to join. This size of paper is perfect for me, most of my ideas are sketched out in 6'' x 4'' pads first, and living on a boat, small  is more practical! The deadline for submissions is January 4th http://twitterartexhibit.org

Another Brittany Cycle Tour

                                                                                                                       

  Where the holiday started, 

Truro Railway Station, waiting for the Plymouth Train

Monday 10th September- ROSCOFF TO CARHAIX-PLOUGER. 46 Miles

   We had a little breakfast on the Brittany ferry after a night crossing, keeping the plastic glasses from the orange juice for later, as they were too good to be thrown away. It was dark when we disembarked at Roscoff,and headed for St Pol de Leon for an expresso in the bar opposite the Cathedral. We didn't linger too long back along the coast we saw the sun come up over the Baie de Morlaix. It looked so calm and and clear, it was the first time we've seen the area  without it raining.

The road alongside the river to Morlaix is one of my favourite cycle rides, mostly flat, picturesque with few cars. We had hot chocolate (very thick and strong) with a croissant at the Cafe Europe, this is a ritual, as it was the only place open when we first visited Morlaix one early morning a few years ago.

From Morlaix we started to head inland up towards Berrian by the road not the V7. The first time we did this route I got the 'bonk' and thought I was going to die on the first day of the holiday! This time we were near the summit before we realised where we were. The fitness improvement is gradual, so when you do something months apart the difference can be startling. We were really chuffed, because we knew from there we had miles of downhill to Carhaix- Plouger ( there is a little climb up into the town that can take you by surprise and it feels incredibly hard after the easy ride).

Carhaix is a town that has everything medieval buildings, good restaurant, reasonable hotel, supermarkets, bike shops, Decathalon, fantastic patisserie (the best strawberry tart ever), river and beautiful surrounding countryside.

We stayed at the Noz Vad hotel in a 'confort' room, above economy, but below prestige, and went to La Rotunde restaurant (delicious) in the evening. It was a still clear night and it was warm still as we walked back to the hotel- beautiful.

Tuesday 11th September-CARHAIX-PLOUGER TO CHATEAUNEUF DU FAOU. 24 Miles

We woke up to a damp morning, we wanted to have a look at the Decathalon shop, which opened later than we expected at 10am, we were having an easier day today so we mooched around the town in the morning, because it seemed it was all closed yesterday. Of course we went to the bike shop which is on the way more or less to the canal, which is a great car free way of getting to our next town Chateauneuf du Faou. 

As soon as we were on the canal path the sun came out and stayed out. The most amazing thing about this day's ride was we cycled for nearly 25 miles and saw  only seven people, two horses and a dog.  One of the horses was working, pulling a painted wooden cart for two men who were maintaining the canal path. I wish I'd taken a photo. 

At lunchtime we had a picnic of smoked salmon baguette sat in the sunshine with our bikes leaning against a plane tree with dragonflies and butterflies flitting about. Heavenly.

Chateauneuf looks like a classic travel advert picture as you come around the bend of the river and the view opens up, perfectly placed spire on the top of the hill, little riverside cottages at the bottom, with wooded slopes between. The climb up to the town was really steep, if I had stopped at any time I wouldn't have been able to get going again. A woman in a car gave us the thumbs up when we reached the square. Although today's ride was much shorter I was glad to stop, I think the tree roots shook me up a bit, and I felt very weary. 
Chateauneuf was very quiet, I think it may have been half day closing again, as a lot of places said they were closed on Tuesdays, and of course it was September too. It looks like a potentially lively place, with bars, pizzerias etc. We found the bar in the square open, so we drank our beer outside like tourists do, even though the locals are all huddled inside . We had a wander around the pretty town, but found it hard to kill time  with everything shut, so we returned to the bar for a coffee. We had to wait until 5.30 to get into our room, which seemed ages when the sun stopped shining.We saw another couple looking forlorn too, and we met again later in the chambres d'hotes. Later we had a good meal at the local hotel (Logis chain), but I've forgotten the name. We had hoped to find the bar still open on our way back for a hot drink, but the town seemed like it was under curfew, (note to self-  get a lightweight cooker next time).


Wednesday 12 th September- CHATEAUNEUF DU FAOU- CARANTEC- MORLAIX. 48 Miles

After a really good posh breakfast with even homemade yoghurt and honey, we set off in earnest up the hill towards Brennillis. Ten minutes later torrential rain started, so we stopped! There was a handy bar umbrella nearby so we dived under it, then saw the bar was open, so we sheltered inside with an expresso. Then the sky cleared to a flawless blue, as we splashed through the streaming road.
We stopped at Brennillis at a perfect cycle stop, Le Charlegan is a little shop and sandwich bar with cycle stands outside. Friendly staff, for some reason hot sausage sandwich is only available on Wednesdays! We didn't partake even though we were there on the right day for once.
 This area is full of tracks and lanes that are marked for bikes, it is a national park,  unlike our Lake District, there is nobody about, but  like Cumbria it does have is a nuclear power station (being decommissioned). A nearby village advertised a festival of butter for the next weekend, a pity to miss that, I was intrigued, do you get to have a taste? I think French butter is really good, but you don't need much.
We carried on uphill, up the Monts d'Aree, we were anxious about this bit after looking at the map, but it was ok, a steady ascent that was managable. Then at the top we had a brilliant downhill run all the way to Morlaix, mainly on quiet back lanes, well tarmaced too. 
Stopped at Morlaix to look at bike shop and have a drink. Then we thought we carry on to Carantec, as we like it there. At Carantec the hotel was full and the creperie we like was closed ( getting to be a theme). 
We remembered there are a few hotels in Morlaix, so we decided to return there.  It started to rain as we set off and became harder as we carried on. We have never cycled so fast on the flat, I sheltered behind Paul and we flew along. The first hotel we came to was full, we were getting worried, then we tried the Hotel d' Europe, they had 60 rooms. We asked for their cheapest, and a place for the bikes. The receptionist said she had a  small but nice room for us and we could lean our bikes next to the ornately carved wooden staircase, what a welcome. I have a free book on my kindle about Brittany written by Fanny Bury Palliser, a lady who visited when the railways first made travel easier in the 1800's. I'm sure the Hotel d'Europe must have been where she stayed as it was built for the railway tourists. She mentioned the medieval buildings that luckily still survive today. She also visited a fountain nearby that was reputed to have run red with the blood of Englishmen, slaughtered whilst drunk after ransacking Morlaix during the reign of Henry VIII, we didn't find it on our walk around the town.

We really enjoyed our stay in Morlaix, we had tasty pizzas in a very swish looking pizzeria, near to the Duchess Anne's house. Then we had coffee and calvados in a bar in a medieval building that was amazing, when sat at the bar, you can look up and see the roof about three storeys high. A great end to a great day.

Morlaix, looking down towards the viaduct

Thursday 13th September- MORLAIX- TO CARANTEC -AGAIN. 8 Miles

Sunny day, soft warm wind, what a change from the night before.  We tarried awhile in Morlaix. We found a cafe with terrace in the morning sunshine, and watched the workers hurrying past.
I did a  sketch of the flower covered bandstand, and tried to do one of a dapper gentleman on a nearby table too at the same time (when he wasn't looking). He was an interesting man, probably in his 80's, and wearing his trilby at a jaunty angle.

We then returned to Carantec at a gentle pace, so that I could stop for drawing purposes, because we knew we didn't have far to go and our room was already booked.
It was market day in Carantec, there were lots of potential paintings, with all the blue and white striped stalls ,red lobsters  and people shopping. I took lots of photos for later inspiration.The market disappeared just after midday like Cinderella at midnight. 
We had a great lunch at Ty Briez near the church, afterwards we strolled down to the beach, and  whilst we had a drink in the sunshine,  I sketched this couple .

We returned to the Ty Breiz later for moules frites, you get such an appetite on a cycling tour!

Friday 14th September 2012 CARANTEC TO ROSCOFF 10 Miles

It was drizzling when we first left Carantec, our original plan was to cycle to Santec, but after speaking to other people the night before, it sounded like the ferries were on strike and hotel rooms were filling up with disgruntled passengers. So we headed for Roscoff to make sure we had a room for the night and to find out about the strike. 
After the bridge that crosses the Penze  River it is possible to get to St Pol de Leon by quiet lanes that have fantastic views of the river and bay. St Pol de Leon is small town with many interesting houses as well as the cathedral, which has an bend in the nave to mimic Christ on the cross, we had noticed this before, but didn't realise why, but thanks to Fanny Palliser we now know!
After another expresso, we cycled out to Ilot  Sainte Anne on the Promenade de Penarth. Then onto Roscoff, where we found a room in a waterside hotel and found out that our ferry would be running as usual from the very helpful tourist information office next to the lighthouse. So we had a leisurely ride to Santec, it was windy with occasional showers, but the road was flat with few cars, and the relief of having a room and a ferry home, made it all jolly. We made a baguette of smoked salmon etc on a bench in Santec (not much else there in September) and returned to Roscoff.
I really like Roscoff, it's clean, it's got a harbour, quirky stone carvings all over the place, the church has a corsair carved at one end that was probably paid for by a pirate in their heyday,and lots of lovely restaurants that you can treat yourself in on the last day of your holiday.
Our favourite is the Mary Stuart, it's reasonably priced, friendly and the best tarte tatin we've eaten with best vanilla ice cream. The pizzas are ok too. We waddled around the town afterwards and had a couple of calvados to finish. We still got up early the next morning for the ferry!

We don't do lots of miles, we like to do the tourist thing too, a bike is a great way of seeing a place. We use our cycles as way of getting from one cafe to another, and when it's hard going, you don't feel as bad tucking into cake when you get there.

Hare Stare, Rainy Day Painting

In between working on Strix's deck and cockpit, I managed to find time to do another pen painting of a hare whilst rain stops work. I used Indian ink, which is lightfast as opposed to the normal Quink type of ink I use in my sketchbooks. Indian ink can be diluted with water, but once marks are made there is no going back, if the paper is dampened first, you can get a more diffused effect. I start with the lightest tones to draw the basic shape then add darker details. The eyes are key, so I concentrate on them, and if they look ok then you can carry on, if not scrap that bit and use the rest of the paper for something else. The size of this hare is about A3, so towards the end it gets quite tense as a drop of ink in the wrong place can ruin  the whole painting and nothing will cover it, unless you make it a part of the work and add more drips!

Brittany Cycle Tour May 2012

Here is a very rough map of our cycle trip.

   Monday 30th April   We started off from the ferry at Roscoff into wind and heavy rain like the last time we came on a tour. It had been a windy crossing overnight on the ship too, at times the waves made the ship come to a full stop, slamming into the bow with a smack. We arrived on time amazingly.

We stopped for a coffee in a lovely small bar in the square near the cathedral in St Pol de Leon, we managed dry off a bit, and the rain eased off too. We went by the coastal road to Morlaix, which is great for cycling, flatish and hardly any cars. Morlaix is another good coffee stop, this time with croissants ( Bar Europa). 

     From Morlaix it is mainly uphill to where we intended to stay at Huelgoat. The road heads up through woods, the occasional shower and gusty wind made it difficult, We stopped after a while thinking we still had eight kilometres to go, we were freezing as the higher we cycled the colder the wind became. Then a nearby sign said we were at Berrien, which is near the summit! Huelgoat was not too far away. We arrived by the little lake hours earlier than we had expected. We were in time for lunch (pasta)at the Hotel du Lac, which helped to warm us up. Laura, owner of the chambres d'hotes that we stayed at, put the heating on and we had coffee and hot showers, and the bikes were safe in a shed. Laura is a lovely hostess. We had an evening meal at Hotel du Lac too (pizza).

    Tuesday 1st May The next morning we had a great breakfast, cereals, yogurt, croissants, muesli toast, orange juice and coffee. Laura also gave us baguette and cake to sustain us as she thought we may have difficulties buying food as it was May 1st, a holiday. We saw lots of cyclists on the road, all friendly, the wind was still on the nose and some of the local cyclists said 'Bon courage' when they saw us struggling into the gusts. It was a beautiful run mainly downhill to Chateaulin on the Aulne river (Brest- Nantes Canal). The sun came out as we entered into the town, what a view, looking down the valley. We had lunch of scallop brochette, rice and broccolli followed by fresh fruit salad in the Grand Cafe, it was a busy place. We were placed elbow to elbow with another couple, who helped us with the chalkboard menu, they described the starter as duck stomach salad! They also advised us not to drink the water, not dangerous, but horrible!

     We had a lovely short flat cycle to Port Launay in the sunshine. We had arranged to stay at The Old Salt House with Rhiannon, she left a note on the front door saying the key was in the left hand plant pot and to make ourselves at home! Obviously a low crime rate area. Beautiful room with a view of the river, the bikes were able to be wheeled through the house to the back yard. A quiet town especially on a public holiday. Tried a sketch, but not too good. Had an evening walk, everywhere was uphill, but great views.

    Wednesday 2nd May After another good breakfast we cycled to Le Faou there are incredible views of the Brest Estuary, which means there are a few climbs, but the roads are really quiet compared to Cornwall which makes it easier.Le Foau is  a very pretty town, had coffee then off towards to Sizun where we booked into the hotel. We could have gone further, but we thought we'd rather stay there than go to Guimilau which only has a motel. We made a mistake of not going to the restaurant when we saw it open, in the evening it was closed, so we only had the hotel where we were staying and it was a mainly meat menu, and as we don't eat meat this made it  awkward, they were kind enough to make an alternative plat du jour for us. 

   Thursday 3rd May  This was the best cycle of the week, we went through Guiclan (great boulangerie for apple tart, and the bar has good coffee). Onwards to La Penze, where  we took a nice quiet lane to Henvic and met a beautful friendly donkey on the way. The weather was great sunshine and lighter winds. We decided to have a look at Carentec, and it was just like  a French resort should be. It was market day when we arrived, a really good food market with lots of fresh fish and vegetables. When the market was packing up men came along and started to clean the street straight away and within half an hour there was no sign that it had ever been there. We found a perfect place to stay on the main street, Baie de Morlaix where there was a secure place for the bikes, and we had a family room for the price of a double with tv and the best shower. Food becomes so important when cycling as you get quite hungry, and we were so pleased to find Ty Briez creperie in Carentec, at lunchtime we had omelette, frites and salad with a pichet of rose wine, it was just what we needed. Then we had a walk to the beaches, where it was so warm that people were sunbathing, it felt very holidayish. There are lots of beautiful chateaux, most of which looked like they were straight out of Country Living magazine. In the evening we returned to Ty Briez  for moules frites with more wine- fantastic.

 Friday 4th May  In the morning we headed back to Roscoff via St Pol de Leon ( for coffee) trying to get  to somewhere to stay before the forecasted heavy rain started. We managed to get a room looking over the sea in Roscoff, and the management said we could keep the bikes in the bar overnight! 

   Caught the ferry the next morning in torrential rain again! 

     

     

St Mawes Regatta

Looking through my sketchbook, I found this one that I did during the St Mawes Regatta. The Marine Band had just got off the ferry, so attention was on them. This was done with a water soluble sepia pen and a water filled brush pen, a great way to get half tones quickly. The water soluble ink is good for sketchbooks, but not for anything that will be exposed to light.

Sneaky Sketches

Just a quick sketch of a couple I sat near.

Man enjoying pub lunch

This man was so intent on his food that I was able to do a quick ink sketch without him noticing too much, ( he might have had a little idea that he was being scrutinised, as he gave a me a small smile). He looked like he was relishing his roast dinner.

Inspired by colour

Last week I ate an oyster at a friends lovely birthday party with a Titanic theme, and 24 hours later I was quite poorly along with all other partygoers who tried the raw oysters. Anyway I didn't go out much, so I painted a few bright paintings to cheer myself up, inspired by the Hamish MacDonald exhibition at Lemon Street Gallery in Truro. I will show one, but I am quietly excited by others I am working on and would like to develop my ideas more before revealing them. 

With the fine weather I have to stop painting pictures and paint Strix's deck!

People in Pubs & Cafe's

Had a fantastic cycle from Falmouth To St Keverne and Coverack yesterday. The Lizard lanes are perfect for cycling. As we flew down the steep hill down into Coverack, the sun was glinting on a blue sea, the tide was out, so the sand was almost blindingly bright. Like Summer apart from only one family on the beach. Went to a excellent cafe near the harbour end  for soup, bread and cheese.

When in cafes or pubs I like to do quick sketches, this means the person will immediately get a call to leave,someone else will block the view, or the 'victim' will notice!

Mousehole

Truro

Falmouth

Coverack