Northumbrian Coast
I’ve been working on a large painting project to refurbish a clients property on the Northumbrian Coast. The theme is entered on some of the castles and the small boats that grace Northumberland’s picturesque harbours.
Although I do have quite a collection of prints of Northumberland, I felt it would enrich the range if I did somer new works. Two of the new prints are of Alnmouth which you can read about in a previous blog post.
The other two are of Beadnell Harbour and Holy Island at Low Tide. For these new works, I made special trips to do some sketchbook work for fresh reference to add to previous studies.
Sketchbook Watercolour
Unfortunately, there was only one small fishing boat in the Harbour when I went to do some sketches. I still did a sketchbook watercolour, but I had to dig out an older sketchbook which contained a suitable study. In the older sketchbook there were three small fishing cobles with brightly coloured buoys. This was combined with the newer sketch which had a large, tall ominous cloud. The hight of the cloud added mood and drama to the composition.
Painting on Location
Painting on location is such a help in providing inspiration for studio paintings. During the reliably short time you are painting, you become very focused. Your brush strokes become direct, expressive and lively. Having the sketches in front of you when working in the studio, stops you from becoming too tight and fiddly.
The new original watercolour of Beadnell Harbour was painted on hand made watercolour paper. I had the edges reproduced for the print to give the print that sketchbook feel.
The original painting is also available as a limited edition print in various sizes starting from £65 unframed.