My first painting since August last year! This is of Greencliff near Abbotsham on the North Devon coast. It was a warm sunny day and whilst walking came across this view after squeezing through a gap in the bracken; it is here where I get my Bideford Black pigment. I can surely feel the gap in my painting fluency due to the lay off in painting but I’m confident this will return over the next few pictures. A little encouragement this painting has now found a new home! Al
A night spent at the Sandy Cove Hotel. As you can see a wonderful stretch of the North Devon coastline where kayaking and paddle boarding is a must. In these pictures you can see the village of Combe Martin with some of the highest cliffs in England including Little Hangman and in behind Great Hangman. In fact Great Hangman has the highest cliff face in England at 800 high, with a summit at 1,043 feet, making it the highest point on the South West Coast Path.
Framed and in a new home. An old pastel sketch of people enjoying the surf at Saunton Sands as the tide goes out! I love how the water leaves that glasslike appearance on the sand. The reflections are often breathtaking!
My wife and I often search for Seaglass on trips to our local beaches in North Devon and sometimes we fine heart shaped glass! This is a special jar of the hearts we’ve found so far! ♥️
An exercise in not over working and titavating with a painting. This is about two hours work and the speed of paint application certainly concentrates the mind and eye. This is Crow Point on a typical mixed weather day with the evening primrose sprinkling the beachside. There are always some great cloud formations here over Appledore in the distance!
This is a painting from a while ago of my twins, wife and friends on Westward Ho Beach. I was taken by the glassy reflections on the wet beach from a recent tide and in the distance, across the estuary, is the famous Saunton Sands Hotel. This image has been created using watercolour, pastels and acrylic paint now in a new frame and double mount!
Saunton Sands painted on Bockingford paper using natural pigments found at Fremington Quay in North Devon. Amongst the rocks and strata at Fremington are various pigments including the usual Bideford Black, which I usually get from Greencliff at Abbotsham, a blackish colour called Poor Man’s Coal, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Umber, White Clay and Grey. I collect these pigments for further preparation where I finely ground them and use them for my paintings!
A return to an old view, that of Lee Abbey as seen from the cliffs above Heddon’s Mouth. You can just see the white speck in the distance reflecting the Abbey’s walls. On warm summer days it’s wonderful to sit here with a picnic looking at the sea and coastal views! Al
My wife and I were staying at the Watersmeet Hotel in North Devon and early in the morning walked along the coast path; this is a painting of that view!
A quick look through a forgotten folder found behind some canvasses in my studio. If there’s anything you like please let me know as all are for sale! The music is a little noodling I did on my guitar a few years ago and I entitled it Costalotcoffee!
Al Brown Artist. 