Tag South West Coast Path

ALMOST SPRING AT CROW POINT

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First paint on canvas since October 2023, so I’m not really expecting too much at the moment but am enjoying sitting infront of the easel again. It may well take a little while to get back up to speed so we’ll see where this one goes! Acrylic on 24 x 18″ canvas.
This was a picture taken on a chilly cycle ride around the Burrows and Crow Point. In the distance is a large storm front coming in and I decided to make a dash for home. I should have stopped for a coffee at The Quay Cafe in Braunton but decided to continue onward on the Tarka Trail back to Barnstaple. As I reached Chivenor Marine Base I was caught in a massive storm with side blown hail stones, I didn’t warm up the entire day after this! Al

CROW POINT

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This twenty one year old painting was hung in my old kitchen so after the kitchen was renovated this painting and its frame were cleaned and a few corrective touches made; better than before!

Through the gap in the dunes you used to be able to see this wreck of the old Sea Mack now sadly almost gone!

SANDY COVE IDEAS

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Recently I’ve been spending time at Sandy Cove Beach near Lee Bay in North Devon and have decided to start a painting inspired by sketches and iPhone images obtained there. My wife and I go to this beach and hunt sea glass for the jewellery she creates then onward to spend time at The Grampus Inn. I use photoshop to create compositions, similar to traditional preparatory sketches, to inspire and familiarise myself with the subject before I start painting. The image above has obviously been photoshopped and will not be painted.

FISHERMAN’S COTTAGE

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A composition of the famous fisherman’s hut in Mullion Harbour, Cornwall. Whilst walking on the cliffs here I often see Choughs flying amongst the grass so I’ve decided to add some to the stormy sky. Through out I’ve struggled with the surface of this panel as I’d applied a smooth coat of gesso which surface seems to produce a more graphic look to my brushstrokes. In comparison, I find fine canvas to be a more subtle surface for colour blending and shading, with that said I find the final picture is somewhat appealing to my eye! Acrylic on gesso panel 380 x 380mm.

BLACKPOOL MILL BEACH

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I’ve just discovered this painting from a while ago! It is of a rock pool at Blackpool Mill Beach in North Devon. This beach is at the end of an enjoyable woodland walk from the famous Hartland Abbey. Just before the beach is a wonderful old building set in grassy grounds called Blackpool Mill Cottage which featured in the BBC production of Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’, as the cottage in Rosamund Pilcher’s ‘The Shell Seekers’, and in 2016, the location for The Lanyon in BBC’s ‘The Night Manager’ starring Tom Hiddleston.
I particularly like the pebble beach here, it’s rock pools and picking up spectacular pieces of driftwood left behind by the Atlantic storms.

THE CORNISH COAST

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Just a little look back at some of my recent paintings of Cornwall. Above is Mullion Cove a favourite place of my wife and I. Below are paintings of Kynance Cove, Lands End, Morwenstow, Bedruthen Steps and my recent painting of the Logan Rock. There is just something about the light here and many more visits are planned.

BLUE BEACH HOUSE

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A favourite topic of mine, beach side huts and houses. I’ve started formally with some loose perspective guidelines and added some acrylic spray can paint to remove some of the initial white of the gesso! Acrylic on hand made canvas panel, 13 x 24″ in old money!
The second in a year and hopefully the end to my lull. This painting is of The Tarka Trail, in North Devon, as it passes through Instow. It was a humid sunny day when I sketched this and was taken by the blue beach house and the red poppies. When ever I see red poppies it always reminds me of childhood memories at Instow. As usual I will sit on this painting for a while then make the final corrective adjustments! Al

TO START ON A FAMILIAR SUBJECT

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We’ll at least a canvas is up now for the first session in SIX months! I haven’t even picked up a brush since January so this one should be an interesting return!
Latest update this morning I decided enough is enough and decided to paint no matter what happens. I’ve chosen a familiar subject of the now removed board walk at crow point and will be adding the final flight of a Hercules C-130 which have now been taken out of commission. This painting is now complete and hopefully I will be back to more original paintwork soon! Al

THE BLUE BEACH HOUSE

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It’s been a while since I’ve put brush to canvas, the last time being January, so I’ve been taking iPhone pictures wherever I go to try and gain some inspiration. Today I cycled down the Tarka Trail from Barnstaple to Instow and was immediately taken with the seasonal poppies.
Along the trail lie various beach side huts, most of them were surrounded with blood red flowers. I remember them flowering here when I was a boy and wherever I see them they always remind me of Instow. With the sun high in the blue sky I was taken with this blue beach house and the contrasting poppies, I’m sure at some point this image will inevitably be used for a painted composition. I’m presently still not painting but instead playing the guitar so at least some creativity is being done! Al