Norfolk Burnham Overy Mill is just a short walk from Burnham Overy Staithe in Norfolk. It’s a delightful area for any landscape artist to paint with the low lying land, estuaries and big skies. We’ve stayed there as a family for the last two years. I’ve seized the opportunity to paint on location, rising early […]
Tag: watercolour
How do you Paint a Turner Sunset?
Tate Britain Last night I received a tweet containing a link to the Tate blog by Alison Smith from one of my followers Jorgelina Vega. Alison is lead curator of “Watercolour” and Curator (Head of British Art to 1900), Tate Britain.The blog contained a fascinating little video by Mike Chaplin. It’s one of a series he’s made […]
Florence from Piazza Michelangelo
Florence Going to Florence in February has its advantages and disadvantages. You don’t get the crowds or searing heat that you can experience in the summer months, however the weather is usually cold and sometimes wet. I recall painting a 14″ x 10″ watercolour from Piazza Michelangelo. Susan was standing over me with an […]
The Tolbooth, Edinburgh
Royal Mile Several of my paintings of Edinburgh feature different parts of the well trodden Royal Mile. The Tolbooth Edinburgh can be found on Canongate Tobooth. I’m always captivated by the Royal Mile because it is full of fascinating architecture. The Tolbooth was built in 1591 and it was here that the tolls or public dues […]
Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh
Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh is a lovely area to relax in, particularly in the summer months. For this particular painting, I wanted to capture it from a more unusual angle. I decided to climb Scott’s Monument, a Victorian Gothic monument to the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott. It’s 200 feet and 6 inches high […]
St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh
Royal Mile St Giles Cathedral stands proudly along Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile in-between the Castle and John Knox House. It has a distinctive crowned spire which reminds me of Newcastle’s St Nicholas Cathedral. Today it attracts a congregation of several hundred worshippers led by around 50 elders who manage the building and the church. When […]
Theatre Royal, Newcastle
Prints of Grey Street Grey Street was described by the architectural critic and writer Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as being the finest curved street in Europe. With its gentle curve of fine Georgian buildings sweeping down to the Quayside, it’s difficult for one to argue against that claim. BBC radio 4 listeners added to its praise […]
Grand Canal, Venice
Academia Bridge The view from the Academia Bridge of the Santa Maria della Salute and the Grand Canal is probably the definitive view of Venice. In 1630 Venice experienced a devastating outbreak of the plague. The Republic of Venice vowed to build a church to be dedicated to Our Lady of Health. A student of Andre […]
High Level Bridge, Fog on the Tyne
Newcastle Bridges I have a bus going past me, a train going over me and a boat passing under me. Where am I in Newcastle? The answer is found in the painting above. The High Level Bridge was designed by Robert Stephenson. Stephenson designed the steam locomotive the Rocket with his father George and Henry Booth. […]
Tuscany
Pistoia My first taste of Tuscany came in the autumn of 1998 when Susan and I travelled to Pistoia. We spent a week with members of an evangelical church. Pistoia lent its name to the pistol which it started manufacturing in the 16th century. We enjoyed a wonderful sunny day wandering around the hills surrounding Pistoia. […]