Siena, Italy
Piazza del Campo My first visit to Siena was in February 1999. It was a wonderfully bright and crisp, sunny ( but cold ) morning. When we arrived, the shell shaped Piazza del Campo where the famous Palio horse racing is held twice a year, was very quiet. It was just a little too cool […]
New Bridge, Ayr
Bridges I’ve always been attracted to painting bridges. My first exhibition back in 1981 contained several watercolours of the bridge in Ponteland. Although the New Bridge in Ayr does not have the drama of the Forth Rail Bridge, I do like this particular painting because of the colours and sunlight on the buildings. West Coast […]
Bamburgh Castle, Winter’s Walk
Commission A number of years ago I was commissioned by a major North East company. They wanted me to paint over a dozen large watercolours of Northumbrian Castles for their board rooms. One of the first ones I tackled was Bamburgh Castle which boasts commanding views over the surrounding landscape. Bamburgh Castle itself is steeped […]
OWN IT
CastleGate In June 2008 I organised a charity exhibition at the Castlegate. It’s the venue of City Church, Newcastle Melbourne Street, Newcastle upon Tyne. The exhibition was to help raise money for three local charities, OWN IT, Open Door and Aquila Way. The exhibition, titled “Faith, Hope and Charity” was a great success. Earlier this year, […]
Frank Henry Mason
Maritime Paintings One of my clients is a great fan and collector of paintings by Frank Henry Mason (1876-1965). Over the last few years he’s asked me to put new mounts on the pieces he’s purchased. I have to say they totally transform the look of Mr Mason’s paintings. His breathtaking watercolours of maritime scenes, […]
Oil Painting of Norfolk
Oil Painting of Norfolk I have been asked recently to do an oil painting of Norfolk for a particular client. As I usually work in watercolour paints, I thought it would be prudent to get back into the swing of painting in oils. As it is a completely different painting technique by doing a quick […]