Room with a view

Painting this morning in the fisherman's shelter 

Could this be the most idyllic setting for an exhibition ever? I think so. I'm feeling very lucky to be here with my little exhibition overlooking Portscatho harbour for two days. 

As you can see the sun was shining today and it could not have been more lovely!

You can see all the paintings in the exhibition for a limited time only on the Harbour Gallery website. Which is your favourite? 

Fisherman's shelter

Fisherman's shelter, Portscatho
8" x 10"

Just so that you can find me when you come by for a celebratory drink tomorrow evening (Tuesday 25th August) 6.30 - 8.00 pm, this is where I'll be - at the fisherman's shelter in Portscatho, Cornwall. Right by the harbour and the red telephone box, you can't miss it. 

I'll also be painting at this fab venue on Wednesday and Thursday from 11.00 am - 4.00 pm.

I have a poor mobile phone signal around here and no internet access in the daytime so if you need more information please contact Mark at the Harbour Gallery. We can't wait to see you in this idyllic place :-)

Pendower beach

Pendower beach
24 x 30 cms

From beautiful France to beautiful Cornish seascapes. I love the curve of this creek across the sand at Pendower beach, near Portscatho. A quiet sandy cove, a lucky find, a picnic awaits :-)

Are you on holiday in Cornwall this week? If so please come and see me at the Fisherman's shelter by the harbour in Portscatho. I'll be there showing paintings on Tuesday evening, and all day Wednesday and Thursday. I'd love to see you :-)

Fig tree and shadows

Fig tree and shadows
12" x 12"

The morning light striking the agapanthus flowers, showing off their glory against the dark shape of my neighbour's hedge is what made me stop here. The peeps of bright acid greens through the gaps in the shadowy gate. And then the dappled shadow cast from the fig tree across the dusty path was enough to keep my attention. This is such a typical Bréhat scene, the pinks of hydrangeas seen in the garden beyond, the blue shutters at the window.

Summer evening, Bréhat

Summer evening, Bréhat
8" x 12"

I am rather happy with this one, the delicate colour shifts in the sky from pink, through orange, gold, lavender and blue. The soft diaphanous rolling clouds that mark this summer evening. 

And I love, just love, that juicy green pebble shaped stroke.

  

End of day

End of day
8" x 12"

I made an attempt this week at capturing that elusive, fast changing time of day. Trying to catch those warm and cool colour shifts in the clouds. The sun going down in a final blaze of glory.

Summer sketches

Sara

Some of my favourite recent sketchbook pages here. Currently my favourite sketchbooks are the Frisk LayFlat pads. If I want my drawing to spread across two pages as it has here with Sara and Playing Billionaire the book opens completely flat and the seam causes no nuisance whatsoever. It has a nice surface for pencil, slightly textured, my marker pens can't bleed through the thick paper, and its also a sturdy enough paper for watercolour washes if I am in the mood for splashing around.

Queuing for ice cream

Teenage boys feet 

Playing Billionaire

French landscape with cows

Sunset sketches

Sun lounger

Sun lounger
8" x 10"

Me and Maisie have spent many gorgeous hours on these sun loungers side by side. I'm reading or writing or surfing Pinterest, and every now and then Maisie asks me to throw an apple that's fallen from the tree. We can hear the odd call from a cockerel, and distant murmur of children playing on the sports field and not a great deal else. 

So enticing are our candy striped loungers here on the island, it was about time I painted them.

Meanwhile on a French island

Freshly laundered
Oils 8" x 10"

Meanwhile my lovely summer continues on the French island of Bréhat with the family. I painted this small oil study yesterday and am hoping to get a few more small oil paintings to take back with me as well as sketch lots and get on with writing my book! Not forgetting eating yummy food, testing the sun loungers, shopping for fresh local produce, BBQ's on the beach, strolling in the sun, playing games with the family and reading all the books I haven't had time to read...  I do so love August!

In the cooling shade

In the cooling shade
Oils approx 12" x 16"

I'm telling you the terrace was the only place to be in the afternoons... unless you were in the pool, or having a siesta in a darkened room ;-)

A glimpse of Montegabbione

Montegabbione from the terrace
8" x 10"

I'm here in France now thinking that I really ought to have sent you a few postcards from my Umbria trip the week before last. The views from the terrace were absolutely beautiful, we enjoyed watching the nearby town of Montegabbione and surrounding hills changing in a never ending array of colour and value. Sometimes hidden, sometimes revealed, sometimes the house facades lit, other times the rooftops, as the distant landscape showed itself through mauves, lavender grey, blues and dusty greens.

I would love to visit Umbria again at a more modest temperature. For the week we were hampered by temperatures of over 35 degrees daily, and sometimes 40. It seems petulant to complain about the non stop blue sky but the humid heat and lack of breeze and places to gather a group in the shade really did make for a difficult week of plein air landscape painting. My band of painters were absolutely fantastic though and managed to produce vast amounts of work despite the difficulties while avoiding heat exhaustion and sunstroke and having lots of fun throughout. So all in all a terrific time :-)

Some of the groups work

Some of the groups work

Some of the groups work

Some of the work produced