An acrylic on canvas 600 x 900mm. After a cycle ride around Saunton and Crow Point I returned to this Linhay on the Braunton Marsh. I like to sit and sketch and watch the sticklebacks swim in the clear waters of the drain. Not today it’s freezing. This scene shows the stark winter sun receding behind a bank of grey rainclouds. Time to cycle back to Barnstaple as the warmth of the sun has gone. AL
The Tollhouse which leads to Crow Point in North Devon. Acrylic on canvas 900 x 600mm. I’ve tried to catch the moment when the neon bright winter sun disappears behind a heavy bank of dark rain clouds. It the moment when everything is bathed in stark light but the background is heavy with weather. Funny how all the birds go quiet in such atmosphere as if there was an impending aclipse. Al
Just a revisitation of the same picture I’ve painted a few times now, this is the last time. Below are the previous versions I’ve painted over the years. Al
A fairly quick painting in acrylic on canvas of a high tide on the River Torridge in North Devon, England. Not too sure about the overall composition but have decided to leave well alone. Image size 500 x 600mm.
Pen & Ink drawing of a duck on the Braunton Marsh 320 x 260mm. At the moment this wonderful habitat to wildlife and beautiful area of Braunton is under threat as a dyke has broken down and the sea in moving inland. The Braunton Marshes are a hidden asset of North Devon supporting wildlife of national and international importance. It’s now under imminent serious threat. An environmental disaster is looming on the horizon due to a sea breach of great significance unless immediate action is undertaken by relevant parties.
Please visit the Facebook page, Friends of Braunton Marsh https://www.facebook.com/groups/400589393729546/.
Please also sign the petition please. visit https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-braunton-marshes-from-being-lost-before-it-s-too-late-1?source=facebook-share-button&time=1515353784
Acrylic on canvas 400 x 500mm.
Tarr Steps in the Exmoor National Park. The Tarr Steps are a clapper bridge across the River Barle in the Exmoor National Park, Somerset, England. They are located in a national nature reserve about 2.5 miles south east of Withypool and 4 miles north west of Dulverton.
A typical clapper bridge construction, the bridge’s listing assesses it as medieval in origin. The stone slabs weigh up to two tons each. According to local legend, they were placed by the devil that he might sunbathe. The bridge is 180 feet (55 m) long and has 17 spans. It has been designated by English Heritage as a grade I listed building and Ancient Monument.
Half of the bridge was washed away by the river whilst heavily swollen by rain in December 2012 and was re-assembled. It was damaged again in November 2016 and has been repaired again by Somerset County Council.
On a cold wet Sunday it’s time to say in and paint something from the summer to warm me up. This is an acrylic on canvas painting 500mm x 600mm of the trail that leads from the wonderful Croyde Beach, in North Devon. The walk eventually leads to the famous local Thatch, a popular pub in the village of Croyde. Al
Another Biddieblack painting of one of the drains on Braunton Burrows. This was initially sketched at the junction where you turn left towards the toll road which leads to Crow Point. I quite like the sheep’s wool caught on the barbed wire to the left of the picture. Al
Just a summer sketch from some pictures in my portfolio. A reminder of hot summer rides around Braunton Burrows and Crow Point. Painted in my own prepared Bideford Black on handmade paper 480mm x 510mm.
A commissioned pen and ink drawing of the tunnels beach in Ilfracombe, North Devon. Now with it’s happy owner in Birmingham. More information can be found on their website http://www.tunnelsbeaches.co.uk/. It’s a wonderful suntrap of a beach with a natural rock swimming pool. If you’re ever in Ilfracombe on a sunny day then it’s certainly worth a visit. Al
Al Brown Artist. 