"Goring-by-Sea" and commission painting

Goring-by-Sea,West Sussex

Good grief ! Where did August go? It seems to have gone so quickly and now we're sadly at the end of the Summer !
It's been a busy month. I don't often take on commissions as they can be restrictive but I received a request that was of a local scene from Burgess Hill and I couldn't resist the challenge!
The painting includes a waterfall, something that I havn't done before.
It's an enchanting view that  that made me think of the wonderful art of Arthur Rackham

Arthur Rackham

  Situated in a rather shady area meant that it wasn't easy to see the detail of some areas but all in all I was happy with the result.....
                                           "Down by the Witch's Den" 
                        

"Down by the Witch's Den" Acrylic on canvas 

After so much green I decided to head back to the seaside for my next painting. This time the subject was a splendid blue fishing boat close to the beach huts at Goring-by-sea in West Sussex.
It's a scene that I was looking forward to painting, that is until the hot weather arrived!
With paint drying so quickly it became harder and harder to put in the details .
I was getting up before the birds just to make progress !  I eventually managed to complete it but every time I look at it I remember how much of a task it became so it's perhaps not my most favourite painting at the moment.....

                                               "Goring-by-Sea" 

Painting of the fishing boat and beach huts at Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex

 

Painting the Summer in Winter

Back to the seaside

The dark bleak days have arrived.
This is the time of the year that I dislike the most and struggle to keep upbeat and enthusiastic.
 This year however I have decided that my best plan of action will be to stay with the memories of the Summer , the bright colourful seaside days !
 I made sure to make as many trips to the coast that I could in preparation of the dark Winter months, I hope my plan works!
My first painting takes me back to the glorious sunshine of Worthing beach in West Sussex.
 Blue skies, fishing boats and views of the pier..

                            "Port side to Pier" Worthing, Sussex (Sold)
                                         Acrylic on canvas  

"Port side to Pier" Painting of Worthing beach, Sussex

My next seaside memory is of the people relaxing on the beach. Hot sunny days, the sound of the sea and a good bottle of wine! ;)

                                                          "Sun Soaked"
                                    

"Sun Soaked" Acrylic beach painting

"Bed, Breakfast and Boats" Painting the scene at East Worthing beach

East Worthing, West Sussex

Part of the reason for my recent trip to Worthing (West Sussex) was to explore the area east of the pier.
 Here you will find  typical seaside bed and breakfast houses all wonderfully painted in different candy colours, like chunks of seaside rock.
They overlook the beach, scattered with fishing boats  and where the fishermen  sell their daily catch.
The whole scene really captures the feel of  the British coast and a wonderful subject to paint.
It won't be the easiest picture that I have ever painted as there is so much detail , the more I look the more I see ! But I think it will be one of my favourites and probably the most complex composition of the Summer.
So...I had better get painting!
Work in progress  ....
" Bed, Breakfast and Boats", Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"x 0.5"
I have so far spent about 5 days painting, each part needs 3-4 layers of paint before I can start overlaying with different tones, shading and highlights...it's a long process so I tend to flit around the canvas on different bits to allow other areas to dry.

Painting the beach at Worthing, West Sussex

 Once the paint has thoroughly dried I can start to add some of the finer detail...

Work in progress "Bed, Breakfast and Boats"

Good progress and the painting is starting to come to life :) ...

Finally, after an awful lot of painting I have completed the picture. It's been a bit of a labour of love at times but I've enjoyed every moment ...

                                           "Bed, Breakfast and Boats" (Worthing)

"Bed, Breakfast and Boats" acrylic painting of the beach at Worthing, West sussex

 

"Tide out and Fish tales" painting the fishing boats of Hastings, Sussex

Fishing boats on The Stade in Hastings, Sussex

I just couldn't leave the Summer behind without revisiting the wonderful fishing boats at Hastings on the East Sussex coast. They really are one of my favourite subjects to paint.
This is the second time I have painted this particular boat, the red paint work looks so colourful against the Summer sky !
I loved the way that the composition represents the end of the working day. The gloves sitting on the poles to dry, the ladder leading the way home, the nets all tidy and ready for the next day and finally the departing seagulls.
I like to think that the weary fishermen have now headed off for a good meal, a good pint and recount the stories and tales of the day .
                                             "Tide out and Fish tales"
                                     Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18"

Painting the boats at Hastings, Sussex

Painting Brighton beach. Part 2

Brighton beach,fresh fish and West Pier

Just a pebbles throw away from the Carousel on Brighton beach  is the Fishermen's museum and kiosks selling fresh fish and various sea foods.
I spent some time here watching a man bravely feeding bread to the seagulls. They're quite alarming when swooping down for food but it was a good photo opportunity !
The view out to sea is dominated by the rusty ruins of the old West Pier that closed in 1975. It has since suffered from collapse, fire and storms leaving little but memories of times gone by.
It's now just an over sized perch for the seagulls .
I thought I would include it in my second Brighton beach painting before it disappears forever !
Sadly whilst painting it I heard news of a fire on Eastbourne's Pier 40 miles along the coast. It all seems such a shame, another part of our coastal heritage in ruins  .

Fire on Eastbourne pier, July 2014

So my painting seems very poignant at this time....


                                               "Flight to West pier"

Painting the view towards West pier at Brighton

                                     
                                Painting Brighton Beach part 1

"Fresh Fish and Seagulls" Fourth painting of the boats on The Stade, Hastings, East Sussex

Fishing boats on The Stade at Hastings, East Sussex

I decided to visit  Hastings again. I've already painted 3 pictures of the boats but couldn't resist another as it's definitely one of my favourite places along the Sussex coast.
The fishing fleet of 25 boats is the largest beach fleet in the country and they are  wonderful subjects for  painting! Colour, detail, history, character....Hastings beach has it all!
It was a lovely sunny day so I caught the train from Lewes and set off with camera in hand.
I spent 2 hours just wandering around the Stade ,soaking up the atmosphere and taking loads of photos of the boats. I also found a friendly fisherman selling the morning's catch from his hut.

Selling fresh fish at Hastings

I had a delightful day and I returned home full of eagerness to get painting.
"Bethan Louise" is the boat I have chosen . I watched it's fishermen for ages,whilst busy working they were throwing scraps of fresh fish onto the beach. This resulted in a frenzied and very noisy attack from masses of seagulls, all desperately trying to get the best bits. The whole scene was so typical of the area that I thought it would make a good composition for my painting...
                              "Fresh Fish and Seagulls"
                                                 Acrylic on box canvas 18"x 24"x 1.5"

Painting of a fishing boat at the Stade, Hastings

"Fresh Fish and Seagulls" Close up and wall views

More paintings of Hastings...
 "Days on the Stade"
"Pots and Dans"

"Days on The Stade" Painting the fishing boats on Hastings beach

Fresh fish for sale on The Stade, Hastings

At last the storms and gales seem to have gone! We've had some awful weather which caused so much damage , especially along the coast. The local news showed a video of part of the rock face at Hastings crumbling away into the sea.
 It reminded of the lovely day we spent there last year among the historic buildings and watching the mischievous seagulls gathering around the colourful fishing boats on  The Stade
I thought I would paint them again , this time on a bigger canvas,  something to brighten up the dull Winter days....

                               "Days on The Stade"

Painting the colourful boats on The Stade at Hastings

"Days on The Stade"

                                               Acrylic on box canvas 24"x 18"x 1.5"

More fishing boats of Hastings here

Painting the boats on the river Ouse at Lewes, Sussex

The River Ouse at Lewes, Sussex

Back in the Summer I visited my local town of Lewes. It's a town steeped in history that has some wonderful architecture. The river Ouse runs through the center of the town and was once a vital means of transport for the Lewes businesses. In the 19th century the waterway was full of barges and boats laden with goods and the river banks were overrun with wharfs, warehouses, granaries, ironworks, breweries, a gasworks, a papermill and soap factory.

The cement works in 1900 and how the buildings look today

Today the river is used mainly for leisure and many small  boats can be seen moored just a short distance from Cliffe bridge.
The river is tidal which causes the reflections to change through out the day, the small colourful boats and their reflections were a perfect subject for a painting...

                                  "River Reflections"
                                                  Acrylic on stretched canvas 24"x 12"

Painting the boats on the river Ouse at Lewes, Sussex

                                                                          BUY

Painting the fishing boats of The Stade, Hastings

A couple of weeks ago I was a lucky winner of some free travel tickets with Southern Rail which meant I could travel any where I wanted in the South Downs area .My sister and I eventually decided on a trip to Hastings (East Sussex).
The town is steeped in history including the battle of 1066 and smugglers tales from days of old.
My favourite part is The Stade with it's fishing boats and tall, dark, net shops.
( It is the largest beach fishing fleet in Europe)
 The area is so full of colour and character, a real painter's paradise!
I've painted one of the smaller boats before, this time I thought I would try something a bit more challenging and paint them with their fishing nets and tackle. The skies were quite overcast and dark which added to the whole atmosphere of the scene.
Work in progress, acrylic 24"x 12" .
The dark skies have been painted and work begun on the 2 fishing boats ...

Day 2 and progress is slow. There's so much small detail that It gets very tiring on the eyes. I've managed to add a bit more colour though and hopefully tomorrows session will see it start to come together more .

Day 3. A good painting day today! I've almost completed all of the detail on the boats. It will all seem a lot easier now that they're done. There's still a fair bit to do and a lot of seagulls to be added ...

Day 4 and another good and final painting day. The nets and pots took a while to paint but I eventually finished them. The only thing I didn't have was a title,  the Hastings Fishermens Museum have suggested "Pots and Dans". I had to ask what a "dan" was as my knowledge of sea fishing is pretty much non existent . I have now learnt that it is the flag that marks where the nets are.
 Such an apt and inspired title !
So here is the finished painting, not a great photo of it as the light is not very good today. You can get a better view by clicking on the picture....
   
                                                     "Pots and Dans"(Sold)
                                                  Acrylic on stretched canvas 24"x 12"

"Pots and Dans", The Stade, Hastings, Sussex

More paintings of the Sussex coast

The Hastings Fishermens Museum

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hastings-Stade-Walks/157167324395190?fref=ts