"The artist...is also a born adventurer. His explorations, unlike those of a tourist, are rewarded by the discovery of beauty spots unmentioned in the guide books, and with tireless curiosity and an exceptional proneness to wonderment, he will come upon objects of remarkable interest overlooked or even shunned by more disciplined observers."

Augustus John, R.A.




Saturday 7 August 2010

Castles, Cobles and Kittiwakes : A week on the Northumberland Coast

A family holiday so neither a birding or a painting break but managed to do a bit of both.

1st August. (My Birthday). North Sunderland Point, Seahouses. 1000 am. Pen and Ink with watercolour.

Offshore; Black Headed Gull, Cormorant, Kittiwake, Sandwich Tern, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Swallow, House Martin, Linnet, Mute Swan, Heron.


1st August. 1940pm. From the harbour Seahouses, looking north. From left to right; Bamburgh Castle, Monks House and Lindisfarne Castle. Watercolour.

If I had a time machine, this is where I would come; the mid 1950's and Eric Ennions bird observatory at Monks House.


2nd August. Lindisfarne Castle. Pencil.


2nd August. Lindisfarne Castle. 1030-1100am. Ebb Tide. Watercolour.


2nd August. 1115am. Ebb Tide. Coble and Lindisfarne Castle. Pen and Ink.


2nd August. Adult and Juvenile Kittiwake. Braidcarr Point. Seahouses. Pen and Ink.
2000pm. 10 minutes drawing before the rain started and the ink began to run.


3rd August. Craster Harbour. 1400pm. Pen and Ink.

3rd August. Dunstanburgh Castle. 1500pm. Watercolour.

3rd August. Black Headed Gull and Turnstones. Seahouses. 2000pm. Watercolour.


4th August. Herring Gull. Seahouses. Pencil and Watercolour.

Spent today wandering around Berwick and then up to Eyemouth. Highlights included a Peregrine circling over Berwick town centre, and feeding Grey Seals Mackerel halves in Eyemouth harbour.

4th August. Farne Islands from Seahouses Harbour. 2010pm. Flood Tide. Sea flat calm. Watercolour.
From left to right; Inner Farne, East Wideopen, West Wideopen, Brownsman and Staple Islands. Longstone is to the right but I ran out of room on the page!


5th August. Kittiwakes. Braidcarr Point, Seahouses. 0845am. Watercolour.

5th August. Bamburgh Castle from the breakwater at Seahouses harbour. 1930pm. Pen and Ink.

6th August. Ringed Plover and Dunlin in the rain. Seahouses harbour. 1430pm. Pen and Ink.

Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Eider, Redshank, Curlew, Kestrel, Swallow, Swift, House Martin, Gannet, Cormorant, Black Headed Gull, Kittiwake, Great Black Backed Gull and Herring Gull.











2 comments:

Jennifer Tetlow said...

What lovely sketches, looks like a good holiday. I particularly like the pen and ink ones. Do you use these to work on in the studio when you get back? When you say 'pen and ink' what are you using? Some of the lines are really fine.

Stuart Brocklehurst said...

Hi Jennifer

Yes these are purely reference drawings, even the watercolours. They are drawn simply to gather information with little thought to neatness or finish, posting them on this blog is the only public exposure they will get. I don't exhibit them and never sell them.

The Pen and Ink drawings are done with a Rotring Art Pen fitted with an extra fine nib. I've been using the same one for over 20 years now and it still works as good as when I bought it. The only problem is I've got watersoluble Ink in it at the moment which causes problems when it rains. Or if I want to put a wash over it.