A completed painting 900 x 600mm acrylic on canvas. Woody Bay in North Devon. I’m trying to create an atmosphere of shadowy warmth created by the oak covered cliffs around this beach. Al
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/heddon-valley/features/woody-bays-victorian-heritage
Back to using my Bideford Black pigment on Bockingford paper 700 x 340mm. This time is a picture inspired from a circular walk from Watersmeet to the Blue Ball Inn at the top of Countisbury Hill. Then onto Lynmouth and back up to where we started our walk.
The Blue Ball Inn was so called because in the late 18th century it was used as a coaching stop. A blue ball used to be raised on a pole to notify the coachmen that someone was in need of passage. It has a history of haunting and highwaymen!
I would love to spend a few days here painting and drawing the North Devon coast at Bucks Mills. I used to surf here on Christmas Day and have many happy memories of summer days here. This is a pen and ink drawing it did a few years ago with a nod towards an old art teacher of mine at Bideford Art College/North Devon College called Jimmy Paterson ARCA. He painted this very scene and I’ve seen it displayed at the Burton Gallery in Bideford. Al
From a plein air acrylic sketch made during the summer, seen below, I’ve added some additional digital layers to plan the progress of this painting. Heddon’s Mouth is a wonderful pebble beach on the coast of North Devon. The National Trust have the wonderful Hunter’s Inn here which is both pub, hotel & restaurant. The circular walk from this place down to Heddon’s Mouth and back is one of my favourite walks. More progress pictures to follow as this composition unfolds. Al
http://www.thehuntersinnexmoor.co.uk/exmoor-restaurant/
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/heddon-valley/trails/gentle-walk-to-heddons-mouth
Back to a little Pen & ink just to change the tempo for awhile. Midday at Bucks Mills a picturesque village on the North Devon coast in England. This leads down to a stoney beach where in bygone time there used to be a small harbour and limekilns. With a little licence i’ve added a few cow parsley plants to liven things up. The cabin in the middle of the picture is owned by the National Trust and used to be an artist’s retreat. Still used today although not as a residence.
I dedicate this picture to the memory of an old art teacher of mine, ‘James Paterson A.R.C.A. 1916 – 1986. Know to us as Jimmy’ who painted some wonderful watercolours of this village and the surrounding area
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Bucks Mills on the North Devon coast, England. A wonderful little village nestled in the trees overlooking the sea. Once a small harbour with evidence of old lime kilns on the stoney beach. I particularly liked the small artists retreat house owned by the National Trust. Next harbour along the coast is a very picturesque cobbled stoned village called Clovelly. Al
Al Brown Artist. 