Painting the South Downs in the Summer

Phacelia fields at Storrington 

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Oh my ! What a lovely Summer we're having ! So much glorious sunshine  ! 

 I've been busy making the most of it with lots of walks, except on the days that got a bit too hot! Phew!  

Here are just three of my favourites .....

Storrington .... 

This year we've been treated with the pretty purple fields of the Phacelia crops.  It's a green manure crop and the insects love it ! 

A visit to the South Downs at Storrington turned out to be a perfect day. Blue skies ,  fabulous flufy fair weather clouds , Phacelia and so very many wild flowers ...heaven 

The South Downs at Storrington 

 Most of the views that I paint tend to be in various shades of green so a touch of purple made a nice change 

                                                    "Phacelia to the Sea" 

"Phacelia to the Sea" Acrylic painting on canvas 

Hastings....
The weather rapidly grew hotter and a trip to the seaside was needed.  Hastings gave me another opportunity  to have some fun with different colours . I love  painting a bit  of seaside fun but it's really hard to get good reference photos. You just can't creep up on people on a pebble beach ..Crunch...Crunch....Crunch ..ha ha!  

These three  really caught my attention and was such a joy to paint 

                                       "A Nice Cup of Tea by the Sea" 

"A Nice Cup of Tea by the Sea" Acrylic seaside painting on canvas 

  Woodingdean....

My most recent walk too me around the harvest fields on the South Downs near Woodingdean. The paths take you around the old lost village of Balsdean and it's a wonderful peaceful place to walk.   

I headed down through Castle Hill nature reserve which was a delight of wild flowers and butterflies 

Heading down Castle Hill nature reserve 

On reaching the bottom I was greeted with the earthy colours of the Flax fields , now gone to seed and dotted with red Poppies . I don't know why but for some reason it made me think of a fabric design .  I rather liked it . 

Flax fields and Poppies 

 I have many more photos from this walk which can be found here Balsdean walk
 

                 The sky was full of Seagulls, I guess there had to have been about 700 ,  I've never seen so many ! 

I loved the views and would happily have spent all day there .  Painting it means I've kept the memory of that day to revisit whenever I wish  ...perfect .

                                                "The Harvest Path"  

"The Harvest Path" Painting the South Downs at Woodingdean 

 

 

 

 

The long hot Summer

Sadly Summer has come to an end. But what a wonderful Summer it has been!
I have covered many miles walking over The South Downs and travelling to the coast.
I can now reap the rewards and concentrate on painting some of my favourite views and capturing memories.
One hot sunny day took me to the Downs at Lewes where I headed up to the Southerham nature reserve . It's a fabulous place filled with wildflowers that constantly change throughout the Summer.

Souterham nature reserve to Mount Caburn

 On the day of my walk the air was filled with butterflies and the red and black of the Burnet moth...amazing!
A very inspiring area resulting in two paintings "Wild to the sky " and "Wild to the brow"  (Sold)

Acrylic paintings on canvas of the Lewes Downs in Smmer 

The arrival of the heatwave meant that some days were just far too hot for walking, especially up the steep slopes of the South Downs ! On these days my trips were to the coast. I've been watching the tide times this year so that I could catch low tide.
 My quest has been to capture the reflections on the sea and wet sand....I wasn't dissapointed !

Summer days on Cooden Beach in East Sussex

With temperatures soaring I headed off to Cooden Beach...wow....I mean WOW!
The sea water was so hot and the sand glistened in the bright sunlight.
A mixture of sand and soft clay "rocks" where small shellfish dig in and make their home.
I couldn't have wished for a more perfect day....time to get painting...
                           

"Those Blue Sky Days" (Cooden Beach) Acrylic on canvas 

So many Summertime memories ! Now, where're my brushes .....see you soon ! :)

Painting Eastbourne Pier "Seaside Gold"

Eastbourne pier, East Sussex

I had planned several walks over the South Downs this Summer and then.....the heatwave arrived!
Far too hot for climbing steep hills so I decided to concentrate on the coast ...sea breeze and cooler ....cunning plan! Ha ha!
As I don't drive I have to rely upon public transport and havn't visited the coast as much as I would have liked over the past 2 years because of the rail strikes :(
This year however I decided to go on a quest.
I have been watching the weather and tide times and planning trips that coinside with low tide. This is when the beach comes alive with the reflections that surround it.
One of my trips was to Eastbourne Pier. A very grand structure recently adorned with golden domes . A wonderful addition that was part of the rebuild after  the pier was severly damaged by fire .

I wasn't dissapointed....in the Summer sun the reflections looked amazing!

Time to paint!!!

                                                     "Seaside Gold" 
                                Acrylic on canvas 24" x 18" 

"Seaside Gold" Painting of Eastbourne pier

 

Brighton Palace Pier

Brighton Palace Pier with it's new sign

Well what can I say....Brighton Palace Pier epitomizes the Sussex seaside !
It's noisy, fun and colourful!
 Amusements, ice creams, fish 'n' chips, fun fair, deck chairs, sticks of rock, candy floss and so very much more! 

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The Pier holds so many happy memories for so many people.
It was always called " Palace Pier" but new owners changed it about 18 years ago to "Brighton Pier", which upset many of the locals. Now it has once again been changed .
I couldn't wait to go and see the new sign in all it's glory....looks wonderful! :)
 I felt that a painting was needed to celebrate the event :)

                                              "Brighton Palace Pier"
                                   Acrylic on canvas 24" x 18" 

Painting of Brighton Palace Pier

 

"Seaweed and Salt Water" Painting of Cuckmere Haven

Cuckmere Haven

Summer has well and truly arrived! Hurrah!
I have been busy making the most of the wonderful weather and venturing off to various seaside resorts.
For a long time I have wanted to follow the path from the picturesque village of Alfriston along the river to Cuckmere Haven .  Good weather gave me the chance to do so. It's a lovely riverside walk that takes you past the chalk horse on the Downs and ending at the Seven Sisters .
You can see photos from my walk here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.179164846272581&type=3

Now, I have painted views from this area several times.The cliffs and coastguard cottages are iconic ..

Views from Cuckmere Haven

but this time I wanted to do something slightly different.
 The river twists and turns to the shore where it becomes one with the sea. I spent ages mesmerized by the flow of the conflicting directions where the river water joins the rolling waves.
 The tide was receding, pulling the seaweed around the rocks and pebbles making wonderful green swirls and abstract patterns . Nature creating art..perfect!
                                               "Seaweed and Salt Water"
                                     acrylic on canvas 

Painting of Cuckmere Haven

The original painting has been sold but products are available https://www.redbubble.com/people/poak/works/32813521-seaweed-and-salt-water

                                                      

"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

 

"Pier and Proms" Painting Eastbourne seafront

Eastbourne pier

Summer's almost here! Hurrah! Time to get back to exploring and painting our wonderful Sussex seaside views!
My first sunshine visit was to Eastbourne. We headed down in "Alice", my husband's TVR to take part in the Magnificent Motors Show...

The weather was amazing and gave me the perfect opportunity to have a look along the seafront and pier.
 Last year my trip here wasn't very productive as  repairs were still underway after the awful fire that destroyed part of the pier.
 There are still signs of the destruction but it's looking rather grand!

Fire damage

Eastbourne pier

 I spotted a row of deck chairs. Standing at different heights that seemed to mimic the waves of the sea. The view beyond overlooks the Promenade and Bandstand where concert music fills the air.
A perfect seaside composition!
                                                   "Pier and Proms" 
                                   Acrylic on canvas 18" x  24"

Painting the deck chairs on Eastbourne pier

 https://www.artfinder.com/product/pier-and-proms/

Christmas time and back to the seaside !

Well it's been a very busy few weeks! I have now sold so many paintings that I can't actually keep up with the demand ! 
I have however made sure to make time for the little things that make Christmas a little bit more special .  A bit of baking...a bit of making and....... a bit of festive cheer :)  I thought this year that I would have a woodland animal theme for when the grandchildren visit . For something a little different I made a cake stand for the Yule log, it has 2 doors that hide a secret surprise .....

Tree stump cake stand

of course I can't tell you what's inside or it wouldn't be a surprise!

Now as you know I'm rather partial to a good ale and thought it was only right that I should enter into the spirit of my theme .....well...it would be rude not to ;)

Christmas is an odd season, you find yourself doing things that you wouldn't normally do . I dislike cooking but it wouldn't seem right if I didn't make a few mince pies, with added cherry liqueur and chopped marzipan. A rather sticky result but tasted pretty darn good.

I was however being watched through the kitchen window to make sure that I made them right...

he was more concerned about his peanuts than me !

Another thing I enjoyed was a visit to our village church, I'm not religious but couldn't resist going to see the Christmas Tree festival. I have to say it was delightful and

Newick church Christmas Tree Festival 

there's not many villages that would put Guy Fawkes on top of the tree..brillant !ha ha!

Newick bonfire society's Christmas tree 

So then, "what's all this got to do with the seaside? " I hear you ask.
Well, as I don't cope very well with the dark gloomy days of Winter I specifically planned to paint something colourful and lighthearted to  help keep me sane. The best subject of course is the Summertime seaside.  I decided to create a composition that would capture a typical day at the beach..
So I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and some wonderful Summertime memories x
                       "Joan and Nancy's trip to the seaside" 
                                  Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18" 

Acrylic seaside painting 

 A few days later........
So....did you guess what was inside the cake stand ? 

  Squirrel, Hedgehog, Fox and Owl !   

Painting the Seven Sisters of Sussex

The Seven Sisters

Just for a change the August Bank Holiday was a lovely hot sunny day.

 Perfect weather for a trip to the coast and to one of my favourite places, Cuckmere Haven in  East Sussex. 

Here you find the iconic view of the coastguard cottages against the backdrop of The Seven Sisters and see the snake like river flowing into the sea.

The river Ouse running snake -like out towards the sea

It is a wonderful place to visit and the views are stunning.

I have painted the coastguard cottages before on a small canvas so I wanted to return and paint them again a bit larger. I had one problem, I couldn't decide which view to paint!

To solve this I've decided to paint two at the same time, something I don't usually do as I find it hard to concentrate but as they're both of the same subject everything seems to be going well :)

It's interesting to see how the colours change in the light and how different the same subject looks from a different angle...

"Seven Sisters Summer"

Acrylic on box canvas 16"x 20"x 1.5"

"Seven Sisters Summer"

 This image has been painted many many times but the cottages won't be there for ever as the chalk cliffs are rapidly eroding away!

  Good news! "Seven Sisters Summer" is now available as prints, t shirts, note books, mugs, cards, cushions, bags and more! Click on this link to view the full range Paula Oakley at Redbubble

"Seven Sisters Summer" by Paula Oakley

"Seven Sisters Summer" cushion by Paula Oakley

                                                   "Cuckmere Cottages"
                                    Acrylic on box canvas 16"x 20"x 1.5"

The coastguard cottages at Cuckmere Haven

 . Here you can see how close to the edge the coastguard cottages now stand. I love the way the orange clay soil almost glows in the sunshine.

                                                                       

More paintings Sussex scenes http://paula-paintmyworld.blogspot.co.uk/p/the-sussex-coast-on-canvas.html#.U7l_HrGFDIU