It’s been a while, due to lack of unfolding confidence issues since I last painted, but here goes to get me out of my present artistic fog! This is a picture of Bucks Mills in North Devon with someone surfing at night making the most of a full moon’s light. 😉
Well it’s a warm sunny day so the three and a three and a half mile walk from Bideford to Appledore was in order. You join the coast path just past the skateboard park at the end of Bideford Park and follow the coast path acorn signs. The path meanders up and down through woods with tantalising glimpses of the River, at one point there are a number of WW2 tank traps to negotiate. It is rather nice to pass the impressive array of private houses and cottages with fabulous gardens and views out over the river. Finally you descend to the waterfront and walk past an impressive boat’s graveyard just beside the large Appledore dry dock now owned by Harland & wolff. You then walk around the dock and follow the road, through cottages and fish markets into Appledore.
In Appledore there are a number of great places to eat but after some deliberation we decided to have some wonderful Hocking’s Ice Creams in chocolate waffle cones and look out across the river towards Instow. Appledore is a hub for local music, arts and sailing and you can spend hours investigating the arty shops in the narrow alleys.
An enjoyable visit to the Tarka Trail to Instow and back. I was particularly drawn to this old mud hut just on the outskirts of Instow.
I haven’t photoshopped any WW2 planes lately but after seeing these on the Imperial War Museum Archive, which came to my attention on Google, I decided on this. The cottage is at Blackpool Beach in North Devon and has been used in many films The Night Manager being the most recent. Below I’ve added some people from a WW2 photo taken during a supplies drop in Holland again referenced off Google Images. Picture of Blackpool Mill cottage is my image.
https://www.hartlandpeninsula.co.uk/self-catering/blackpool-mill-cottage.html
Just an experiment with colour and shapes, an acrylic painting on gesso panel 440 x 560mm A loose painting inspired by a wonderful photo by Liam Alford Photography on Instagram. This image is of Lands End in Cornwall, I particularly like the stone cold and neon cheap light in this picture typical of cloudy coastal scenes at this time of year. Oh I also have a little art assistant to! Stanley Brown our new Tabby!
A painting of Kynance Cove from a few days ago. We had walked from the Lizard Village to Housel Cove, then on past the Lizard Point to Kynance. The day had been very sunny but quite cold for this time of year, but once here we witnessed a massive hailstorm, we had a mug of tea and waited out the storm. Most people present left immediately and after half an hour the sun came out and this scene was captured on my Huawei phone.
A wonderful day of walking around the amazing Lizard Peninsula. A pleasurable walk from the Lizard carpark down to Housel Cove, then along the South West Coast Path via Lizard Point to Kynance Cove. Arriving at Kynance we were assaulted by a massive hailstorm which lasted over half an hour. Once the blue sky finally arrived you could see the storm on the horizon like an atomic bomb blast! Whilst the storm was overhead most people had left the beach, when the sun returned we had the beach to ourselves a rarity here that’s for sure. Here I always marvel at the coast’s clear turquoise water and rugged outcrops of granite stone. We returned back along the coast path spotting bobbing seals and paddle boarders making the most of the warm sunshine, then to Housel and finally the carpark. More inspiration here for future paintings! Al
The picture below shows how the sand ebbs and flows throughout the seasons. The above image was taken a few days ago May 2021 the lower image taken in the Summer 2020.
A painting inspired by The Lizard Peninsula. This is of the secret beach at Housel Bay a perfect place to go swimming. In fact I’ll be walking there later this week, don’t forget to say hi!
A small acrylic on panel of a section of the South West Coast Path between Heddon’s Mouth and Lee Abbey, 370 x 610mm acrylic on panel. You can see the dot of the Abbey in the distance of this painting in the sunshine. I’ve tried to portray the cool shadows against the warm Spring sunshine and am trying to simplify my brushwork somewhat. We’re looking forward to visiting Hunter’s Inn again when it opens for a few drinks. Al
CIRCLE OF LIFE
An enjoyable circular 10 mile walk from County Gate to the village of Culbone. It was wonderful to be out walking again along the South West Coast Path. A scenic cliff path walk through densely wooded walkways with tripping streams and open fields dotted with sheep and newly born lambs. We arrived at the village of Culbone and enjoyed a picnic sitting on an old bench in the graveyard of St Beuno Church.
St Beuno Church is reported to be the smallest church in England and dates back to the 13 Century a delightful place set within an aged wood, the sunlit graveyard was a delightful way to spend time in the sun.
We returned back to County Gate via a higher footpath through farmland disturbing herds of sheep and lambs on the way. Finally we made our way back over the high moor through the County Gate Stones back to our car. Below are a couple of links with regard to this walk. Al
https://www.highcliffehouse.co.uk/county-gate-culbone-church
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culbone_Church
Al Brown Artist. 