"Flying Time" Painting of Worthing pier

Worthing pier, Sussex

Well, the last 10 days have passed in a haze of sleepless nights and constant coughing ! I can cope with the cough but not getting much sleep just brings everything to a halt .
The most frustrating thing is that we've had some wonderful sunny weather and I've not been well enough to venture out.
I am feeling  better today and have decided to head back to last Summer when we visited Worthing .
I keep finding myself drawn to different and interesting types of architecture. Brighton pier is dominated by the Victorian curls and twirls . In contrast Worthing pier is full of curves and Art Deco influences.
 The Southern Pavilion at the end of the pier has recently been refurbished and looks rather splendid!

The Southern Pavilion on Worthing Pier

In the middle of the pier is the amusement arcade where a large Art Deco clock dominates the front of the building. I love the striking combination of the sharp lines against the curves of the structure, all topped of by the bright red sign on the top.

The Art Deco clock on Worthing Pier

This is the part of the pier that will be the main subject of my painting.
 It's here in the sunshine where you can sit and watch the seagulls swoop and fly by as they eagerly watch and wait for the fishermen to bring in their catch.

Work in progress              "Flying Time"  Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18" 

 I've been busy sketching out the composition . It's all very rough at the moment but at this stage all I need to do is mark in where everything will go and get the sky painted...

Sketching in the composition

  I sold a painting today so that was good news. Luckily I live just a short distance away from the post office so I didn't have to be out for long as I'm itching to get on with some more painting.
Alas not much progress today though. I have put in the first layer of the sea and started a few bits here and there....

Waiting for the sea to dry!

Lots of progress  building up the layers of paint and making a start on other areas of the composition. I've even added some of the finer detail...

Starting to build up the composition

It's now 3 days later and painting is going well!
 I had a break from it over the weekend to catch up with the boring things like housework. I can't paint if there are things to be done so a good blitz around the house leaves the coming week clear to crack on.
The composition will gradually start to come to life from now on as the finer detail is added .

Adding more depth to the colours and starting to define the smaller parts

The left hand side of the background is now complete , although using such small brushes means it is rather slow....but it's also addictive! Another 2-3 days should see it completed.
In the mean time I have sold another painting. The man in the Post Office is now greeting me with
"You again?" :)  Life is good.

Completing the left hand side of the background

So finally it's taken another 2 days of working on the detail and finishing off the remaining areas . It feels like it's been a long journey but I have thoroughly enjoyed spending my days thinking of nothing but the sunshine and seaside of Worthing beach :) ...
                                            "Flying Time" (Sold)
                            Acrylic on canvas 24"x 18" 

"Flying Time" Painting of Worthing pier, Sussex

"Seaside Seagulls" Painting Brighton pier and seagulls

Brighton pier, Sussex

 The Summer is starting to fade away, the evenings are getting darker and the wonderful sunny days are getting less. This however does not mean I'm ready to leave it behind.... I will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the Autumn !
 I am so very reluctant to leave the Summer colours and sunshine that have inspired me over the past few months. So much so that for now I shall continue with my very own extended Summer!
My latest painting came about after watching the seagulls on Brighton beach. They get some very bad press but most of their misbehaving is brought about by people feeding them.
Their antics can be very amusing and love them or hate them Brighton just wouldn't be the same without them!
                                   "Seaside Seagulls"
                                     Acrylic on canvas 20"x 16"

"Seaside Seagulls" Acrylic painting on canvas

Summer and "A Birds Eye View"

Well life has been rather hectic lately, all in a good way though.
I'm delighted to have made lots of sales, to the point where it feels like I'm at the post office as much as I am at home! Ha ha!
I have been busy this week working on a commission which I can't divulge at the moment other than it is a lovely landscape .
Then, on the best sunshine days I have been out and about exploring more places with my camera.  I am working on a South Downs landscape at the moment , a wonderful composition of distant views and wild flowers .....watch this space!

Of course it wouldn't be Summer without a trip to Brighton beach. I decided to go and do some "people watching" , the beach is always such a wonderful mix of people, kids playing, oldies snoozing, boisterous teenagers and pretty girls sunbathing.
They're talking about culling the seagulls at Brighton,  but to be honest the problems are caused by the people that feed them for their own entertainment . Just a small piece of bread thrown into the air causes a chaos of squawking and feathers that delight some and terrify others!
So, anyway, as I said, July has been hectic and I thought it was time for a bit of Summer fun .
 Going back to the pretty girls sunbathing, oblivious to anything other than the overwhelming heat of the sun and the desire to sun tan as much body area as possible.
They lie on the beach with no interest of what is going on around them, not even the cheeky feathered squawking seagulls that fly and swoop above .............
                                                          "Birds Eye View"
                                                           Acrylic on canvas 24"x 12"

"Birds Eye View" A little bit of Summer painting fun!

 

"Gulls and Groynes"

Cliffs and beach at Seaford in East Sussex

On my recent trip to Seaford I spent a while watching the seagulls on the cliffs and beach. I could spend hours watching them swoop and soar over the waves, even if they are rather noisy at times!
 It always amuses me the way that they each sit on top of the groyne posts as if they were put there specifically for them !

Seagulls on the groynes

 With the sunshine on the water and the gentle splashing and crashing of the waves it was picture perfect!
                                         "Gulls and Groynes"
                                 Acrylic on canvas 20"x 16" 

"Gulls and Groynes" Acrylic painting on canvas

....and further up the beach "Beach huts and boats"

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

"Seagulls over Arundel" Painting the river at Arundel in West Sussex

Arundel, West Sussex

We recently visited Arundel in West Sussex .
 A very old picturesque town that is dominated by the castle on the hill.
We were there to have a look around the classic MG car show which was being held in the castle grounds.

Classic MG's at Arundel show

The cars looked great, especially surrounded by such wonderful scenery.
 Afterwards, as it was such a lovely day, a stroll along the river bank seemed the ideal thing to do.
The view towards the town was to be the subject of my painting.
 I loved the reflections on the river, the little boats gently bobbing on the water and the seagulls swooping in to find tasty morsels left by sightseers. It was all so colourful....
                                        "Seagulls over Arundel"
                            Acrylic on box canvas 24" x18"x 1.5"

Painting  of Arundel and the river

                                                                     

"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