A wonderful walk with friends and another’s Birthday. A walk along the North Devon coastal path from Morthoe to Bully Point and back into the village for some beer n food. Finally on the way home a stop at the top of Woolacombe Hill to watch the hang gliders. The view breath taking as usual. Al
A quick pastel sketch from a photograph of Westward Ho from a magnificent picture off Facebook. One thing about the North Devon Beaches is that you get magnificent reflections in the wet sand. They’re full of wonderfully subtle colours and shapes an artists dream. (Pastel 470mm x 300mm). Al
ps Original photograph by Rob Elson.
Koh Samet.
Deep green and distant islands
I have been off Ban Pae Pier.
Where the salt white sands are bleached,
And the water’s crystal clear.
Sweeping shadows of the palm trees,
Open fingers brush the shore.
Band of grey approaching thunder,
Monsoon rain a little more.
Without care for tortured world
We bronzed our thoughts away.
Cosmopolitan games of volleyball,
Oriental Eden made for play.
Beachside huts now mute and toppled,
No more bucks from Uncle Sam.
My friends have now gone elsewhere,
Have they gone to Vietnam?
Korean families with their beach craft,
Who’ve discovered Diamond Sands.
While away their humid moments,
Where a noisy jet ski lands.
My uncovered secret heaven
Was impossible to hide.
Speeding years and aging faces,
From those memories we cried.
Why couldn’t it last forever?
Tearful dreams of carefree days.
Fleeting moments of impermanence,
They’re our lives the Buddha says.
So now it’s time to move along,
Relieved so one pretends.
Now I’ll sit alone and drink awhile,
To the ghosts of dancing friends.
Why is it that when it comes to portraits I have to be in the mood? A portrait is such a personal thing and as an artist that idea of what the sitter desires and what the artist portrays can be a gulf apart. I’ve not drawn likenesses for awhile but who knows I may get a second wind. Al
When having my portrait painted I don’t want justice, I want mercy.
Billy Hughes
Well this evening my son and I decided to go out for a walk and dig for some Pignuts. Finding them was quite easy amongst the buttercups. With the use of a sharp stick my son Archie dug around the stem to tease out the root ball and pignut. A very successful evening’s foraging. Pignuts taste rather like hazelnut crossed with a carrot with a slight hint of hotness. Better than watching the TV or the Laptop. AL
Quite a surprise today no rain, as promised, so a walk up to Manning’s Pit and Bradiford Water in the sunshine. Buttercups were flowering and was informed that in this valley there are three different kinds. White Pignut flowers were also out and with a sharp stick I dug up some pignuts and after a quick wash in the fresh water they tasted delicious. I was also informed that Shakespeare wrote in The Tempest “I prithee, let me bring thee where crabs grow; and I with my long nails will dig thee pignuts” .
Also in Treasure island. “Dig away, boys,” said Silver with the coolest insolence; “you’ll find some pig-nuts and I shouldn’t wonder.”
All in all another idyllic day Al.
The summer is coming but still it’s raining around North Devon. Grey, wet and I am still cold to the bones. We get sporadic sunshine and promised warmth but still nothing to call Summer. Why is it from our childhoods memories were always full of sunshine and happiness? Al
A wonderful cycle ride along the River Taw in Barnstaple. I used to play around here as a child and this visit brought back many memories. Drinking from the Dripping Well where ghosts of monks have been seen. The cycle path follows the old railway track onwards through Fremington Quay to Instow, Bideford and beyond. I think I will be using the Hawthorn trees for some paintings very soon. Al
A wonderful day of cycling around the Great Field and Braunton Marsh. I spent an hour watching sticklebacks playing in gin clear water. Once again enjoying the simple, natural things in life that we often overlook. Time urgency and working to live certainly clouds this sort of simple pleasure. Today I’ve seen herons, egrets, butterflies, fish, and at the end of the cycle ride the flash of a kingfisher at the Velator Weir. A day to remember. Al
Out for a walk along the North Devon coast and came across this wonderfully wind swept tree. Looking at this photograph of me snapping it the composition was probably better from that angle lol. (410mm x 320mm) acrylic. Al
Al Brown Artist. 