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HarcourtArt

A few days in the olive trees brought by the Venetian a few hundred years ago the need to put down marks was in the air. And that we did.                                          from place to place where we perched the night thanks to friends with high places. Our gratitude for the company and cosy bed to they who know who they are with wonderful spots with views sunsets and tranquility. Thank you.

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Who would ever have thought that to follow trails through a grecian mountain range might beat those azure blue island beaches and all the sun that goes with it. Well we did both and the novelty of the hills alive with no-one was a delight. Staying in high villages of a lost age where the building are fine and the aspects tremendous but alas devoid of the young and proper activity or even a shop. So that might be a detraction, though not really as we found the solitude of the hills, the ravines and the wonderful trees, a place ...

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Every day that the sun rises so magnificently over the sea is a sight to behold from the end of the Cobb wall and no boat needed. On the other hand boats were the only thing needed by the locals unabashed by the madding crowds to be a part of the sail-by to celebrate the 100 years of the sailing club. An ancient time-held tradition from the Greeks we had everyone from the harbourmaster and the RNLI to the six man gigs with every type of sail lining up and quietly past the decorated committee boat PJ for the dipping of the ...

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If we couldn't get abroad we had to return to the old hunting grounds on the Cornish coast. The trick was to avoid the traffic and to get into a spot away from those who would normally be in the med. That was only possible by leaving a eleven at night and booking the lodgings two years ago and we squeezed north and south in all weathers. We got jabbed by the wind, jabbed by the rain and nothing else to worry about but food and our maps. Doubly good for the soul. Helford on the Lizard side - as glorious ...

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As Christmas 2020 looms, the thought of the absence of real 'get togethers' has brought a new light on the way we celebrate. Whilst physically disconnected from each other, there is a bigger sense of caring between folk, as the reflections on quite difficult times for more people than we may imagine come into focus. For all those we know, and those who have helped the communities so well, we wish a peaceful time over the next few days and into 2021 when surely we can plan to be fulfilled, hug each other again and paste over the last few ...

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Philip carries out most of his work en plein air and he can be found in unusual settings fitting in an hour or two of sketching before moving on.... In the African bush Coffee on a cold beach         [caption id="attachment_1204" align="alignnone" width="800"] PK paints on verandah at Eglatine[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2235" align="alignnone" width="715"] © Photograph - Richard AustinTel: 07831-566005[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2237" align="alignnone" width="1024"] © Photograph - Richard AustinTel: 07831-566005  across the fields of Devon[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2236" align="alignnone" width="828"] © Photograph - Richard AustinTel: 07831-566005[/caption]   IN THE STUDIO for once 

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So where did the summer go as June faded into storms and the May heat left the ground beneath our feet?  With solid shoes, a coat and scarf I went down to the sea the first clear morning after midsummer and captured the mood.  A few days later the evening sky at home showed no compassion for us requiring warmth so we could eat comfortably outside. I bounced along the cliffs west of charmouth where old fashioned fields with a wild sward of healthy grasses abound with colourful  butterflies and tiny creatures loving the weather.   And larger beasts too cuddled up against the ...

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Like many the lockdown to us is at the same time as confusing to the rhythm etched into our dna as it is offering a strange liberation. But without end, there is a persistent search for what might come and out of that some good contemplation of ideas for the future. My method of adjustment partly took me to the fields around home at Yarcombe always within range of the closed church which I now notice slightly changes shape as each evening stroll was recorded onto paper. 

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