Zennor, Cornwall

Posted on February 14, 2019 by

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This is a painting started some time ago and completed today. It is from a sketch I made on a visit to the ancient village of Zennor near St Ives a couple of years ago. I tucked myself away from the tourists at the back of The Tinners’ Arms, the local pub. The tower is that of St Senara the ancient parish church, which is associated with many myths and legends. The village has been a magnet for artists and writers, including DH Lawrence who finished his novel Women in Love here in 1915-17. He wrote this of the village:

“At Zennor one sees infinite Atlantic, all peacock mingled colours and the gorse is sunshine itself. Zennor is a most beautiful place: a tiny granite village nestling under high shaggy moor-hills and a big sweep of lovely sea beyond, such a lovely sea, lovlier even than the Mediterranian…..It is the best place I have been in I think”.

I think that says it all!

The painting is 10 inches square, oil on canvas board.

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Worms Head, Rhossili

Posted on February 14, 2019 by

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Looking towards Worm’s Head from the Rhossili cliff tops. The Worm snakes out for about a mile into the Bristol Channel and is only accessible during a window of about four hours at low tide. This is a 10×12 inch oil painting on canvas board.

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January day, Three Cliffs Bay

Posted on February 10, 2019 by

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Finished today… at least I think it’s finished. Someone said a painting is never finished, it’s simply abandoned. Knowing when to stop – or to abandon the painting – is something of a challenge for me. I do tend to overwork.

Anyway, this is an oil painting, 16×12 inches, on Winsor & Newton canvas board. I painted it from a few charcoal sketches made on a very cold day in January, 2019, and from memory. I was lucky that the rain held off long enough. I include the primary sketch below.

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Dog Walkers, Langland Bay

Posted on January 30, 2019 by

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I don’t post a painting for several months and then two come along in as many days! I made this small painting today, and it’s still glistening wet. It’s a 10x12inch oil painting on canvas board, and took about three hours to complete.

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Moonlight over the Great Tor

Posted on January 29, 2019 by

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This is a bit different for me – a nocturne of Three Cliffs Bay, Gower, looking towards the Great Tor. I painted it in one hit today, and it’s still wet. I need to take another photograph when it’s dry.

A 12 x 16inches oil painting on canvas, mounted on board.

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Rhossili – weather closing in

Posted on July 19, 2018 by

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This painting was worked up from the initial sketch reproduced below. In many ways I like the unadulterated rawness of the sketch. There’s always a danger of over-working a painting, refining it and and putting in too much detail leaving little to the imagination. I hope I’ve not taken this painting too far in that direction.

Perhaps a few figures may yet appear on the beach to give the cliffs a sense of scale.

Oil on canvas board, 12x16inches.IMG_2513 copy

 

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Smeaton’s pier, St Ives

Posted on July 18, 2018 by

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A small oil painting of the popular and oft painted Smeaton’s pier in St Ives, Cornwall. This iconic landmark was built between 1767 and 1770 by the engineer John Smeaton. I have used a limited colour palette, and have resisted the temptation to put more detail in the foreground boats, preferring the ambiguity of the forms that suggest, rather than fully articulate, the complexities of the working harbour. Oil on canvas board, 8 x 8 inches.

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