Whilst looking through one of my hard drives I came across this image of an old, and rather large watercolour of mine. It is of Wringcliff Beach at the bottom of The Valley Of Rocks in North Devon, painted about 1980. I recall placing this on ebay for sale with no reserve, some lucky person in Lynton picked this up for £10, well you live and learn. Al
A warmish Bank Holiday Sunday so we drove to the carpark just above the Watersmeet Tearooms which are managed by the National Trust. Not too many people here because of Covid so we sat in the sun and each imbibed in a rather nice cream tea. The birds here are quite tame and at times you can hand feed the sparrows and chaffinches. After tea we walked down from the Tearooms to Lynmouth along the Lyn Valley. Finally we arrived at our destination and found a warm spot by the river out of the cold wind to relax in. I must say though that Lynmouth was heaving with tourists. Al
ps The first two pictures of the Tearooms were taken a few years ago when Covid hadn’t been invented yet and leaves were on the trees!
https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/watersmeet/features/eating-and-shopping-at-watersmeet
A trip out Heywood Forest to visit the Norman Heywood Castle. Built by the Norman in the 11th Century and is an example of a Motte & Bailey Castle. The forest has a wonderful walk through the pine trees ideal for dog walkers. From the main A377 there is a quaint drive through some idyllic country lanes lined with thatch cottages and farms.
https://www.devonperspectives.co.uk/heywood_castle.html
CIRCLE OF LIFE
The finished item, Watermouth Cove acrylic on recycled canvas 36 x 36″.
To get off my usual way of working today I’ve decided to be a little more spontaneous and place a time limit on my work. This is the result an acrylic on gesso panel of Bucks Mills in North Devon at almost low tide. What a great morning spent there in the Spring sunshine watching the surfers off The Gore. I remember at the Bideford School of Art one of my teachers called Jimmy or James Patterson painted a wonderful watercolour of Bucks Mills now at the Burton Gallery in Bideford. Must go back and do some plein air! Below is a pen and ink of mine of Bucks with a nod to Jimmy. Al
A beautiful walk from Hunter’s Inn down to Heddon’s Mouth and then on to Woody Bay. A quiet walk in the Spring sunshine with breath taking views out over the North Devon Coast. One direction out to Combe Martin and on to Lundy Island in the far distance, the other to Lee Bay and on to Lynmouth and the Valley of Rocks. More inspiration for future paintings.
Acrylic on unstretched canvas 380 x 480mm. A painting inspired by a lockdown walk last week. Quite cloudy although a lot of sunshine to be had. I especially liked the play of shadows on the dunes.
The first out of the blocks for this year a warm up as I’ve not painted for over a month. Another Biddie Black of one of my favourite walks out to Crow Point in North Devon. New Year’s Day 2010 was very busy here with people observing the latest lockdown. I’m really surprised with this as for many years Crow Point has remained quiet, even in the summer. During the Covid Pandemic locals have reacquainted themselves with this quiet beach and now it’s busier than I have ever seen. It was lovely to bump into a few friends here that I’ve not spoken to in a long time.
Another lock down so my wife and I spent a cold afternoon walking around my favourite section of the North Devon coast, from Bull Point Lighthouse to Morte Point then back into Mortehoe. It was surprising to see so many people out but social distancing was adhered. There was a large group of teenagers at the top of the hill by Mortehoe Station gathered together without masks. The weather was quite warm with no wind, that was until we rounded the Point, then the cutting winter wind reared it’s ugly head. There were some unusual cattle roaming the hills, all black except for a band of white around their bodies. My wife named them the Oreo Cows after the biscuit. By the time we arrived back the light had gone so a slow dark drive home. The Pen & Ink drawing at the top was completed a few years ago, today’s image almost matches the original.
These are a few of the paintings I’ve completed this year! I would like to say thank you to all the encouragement I’ve received and those that have purchase a little bit of me! I will return to the easel in 2021 with a vengeance and hopefully with new found enthusiasm after an odd 2020! Oh and yes I now realise there are two of the same pictures in this collage, my wife’s so smart! Al
Al Brown Artist. 