Pastel picture of Bideford/Barnstaple Bay (470mm x 300mm). Now and again you rush and produce something like this. Not very happy with the finished picture but there and again art is a moving and linear leaning process. The particular lesson learnt here, don’t rush when you’ve only got limited time and observe, observe, observe! Time spent 45mins. Al
Original picture from a photograph from Facebook. Not too sure who’s it was.
I very rarely drive a car: that’s my wife’s domain. When I do I notice how, once behind the wheel people become more aggressive and unpleasant. Once in a car no one is in the wrong, it’s always the other driver’s mistake. Once behind the wheel the only important person in the world is them. What has happened to courtesy? Mutual politeness? If we walked we would behave differently toward each other. Therefore it’s the anonymity and protection of being in a car that separates us from others. Similar to being on the net where you make remarks, positive or negative, from the comfort of your own sofa. It’s amusing how people want to over take you, they want to get in front, be first, get one up on you. They don’t know me and I don’t know them what’s the point then? Time urgency, late for work, just feeling angry then think about others and perhaps extend some courtesy to others. Smile and the world will be a better place for you and that bloke you’ve just cut up at the traffic lights! Al
Picture taken as my wife drove home from a rather nice weekend in Bristol. This is on the M5 motorway somewhere near Taunton.
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
Al Brown Artist. 