To use ones own two feet to move between the boats and trains of the Adriatic has to be a privilege if only because nothing can be quick and time and patience are required in equal measures. Not that we felt ever burdened by delay or under estimating our journey. Above all the contact with the warm terrain and waters was profound. Corfu life can be a cliche: but leave the developed seaboards and within minutes the raw and wonderful legacy left from years of Italian occupation are in full focus with not much touched by those emerging from the ...
A small well formed group of artist wannabes crept to the ruin at Barbanichos, a special place owned by friends on the lower slopes of Pantokrator mountain on Corfu as it descends to the Ionian Sea above Avalki. We imported soft music and furniture to create the most wonderful impromptu studio as we hid from the impending storm for a lesson on vanishing points and simple watercolour shading. The staggering view over the Adriatic the Albanian hills provided material spied through the stone apertures of the ruin and everyone was absorbed by the atmosphere. Instant creativity ensued. The ...
Taking to the paths of south west France, wandering from village to village with the prospect of lunch in shirtsleeves on that predictable pavement table and perhaps a dip in the river afterwards, takes on a whole new reality when the rain is more horizontal than it it is ever feels back home and our feet are wet. Well nearly all the time anyway. That means sketching becomes damp and blobby, very intermittent and somewhat less satisfying. But no! its fun and we had such a different time getting out the whole time walking all over the place, picking walnuts with ...
Anyone strolling voluntarily within near range of a Russian border might be foolhardy, mad or simply curious for Georgia is one of those tiny wedges of a country at the end of the Black Sea partly occupied by Russia (in their inimitable style) as well as a northern border that ranges across the High Caucasus in which we we walking. Thankfully the mountains were high enough and ice clad with glaciers - albeit they were retreating - to act as a useful barrier for both the indigenous... and their guests. We pressed on into those massives at a level about ...
A small project at home this week of the Coronation was to create a scareking, so the village have chosen to call it. So we obliged by going to the wardrobe in the barn and stuffing feed bags and tights with straw. Installations are such fun especially if short lived and fit the moment. [caption id="attachment_2515" align="alignleft" width="768"] King Charles gardening at Panshayne Farm Yarcombe[/caption] And so this is how he turned up - to trim my hedge in time to make it smart for the 6th May 2023. He was remarkably agile and obviously had lots of practice at Highgrove whilst ...
As many will know, a group of fascinating artists descended on the Blackdown Hills in Somerset early in the twentieth century to produce some bucolic colourful landscapes in a style that really represents the landscape. Names like Walter Sikert, Robert Bevan and Spencer Gore amongst others have come to be the pioneers of this work and are worth a look at the places they found such as Woodhayes, Rosemary Lane and Applehayes. Some say little has changed in that landscape over the intervening hundred or so years; but a not so careful look at the structures of modern farming, the widened ...
We all sat in the balmy afternoon air under the oaks not fifty paces from Fazende where we often spend a summer holiday. And with a little direction and collaboration took in the shapes and hues of the collection of buildings. Transposing colour and shades made for a delicious array of images all saying the same thing. Well done to the etudiantes Molly, Katie, Imo, Paddy and Serena and look forward to their exhibitions of work in years to come.
Everyday for ten days the rhythm was much the same. Enjoyable and arduous in equal measure and without doubt cathartic after a nasty bout of covid in the confines of the West Country. As I make my way from Le Puy en Velay in the Auvergne and at five-thirty in the morning the rousings of fellow walkers would start: so that by first light we could step into the freshness of the day well before the unforgiving sun took hold. Breakfast maybe a scratchy apology for nourishment as we clambered to get out to take full advantage of the early part of ...
It is said that the atmosphere of a cricket game is unsurpassed by that of Lords on a sunny day. And with the first team playing New Zealand the tension was there in a wonderful match which, according to the cognizant, “could have gone either way”. Anyway England won. As a first time visitor of the real thing: and one who normally listens to the wireless whist weeding the garden I found the close arena of different buildings of all ages and architectural merit and all with this similar function, of viewing for hours on end nearly static beings and ...
As part of an initiative launched through the superstars fundraising auction service by my friend Emma Hunt I have made a contribution to the magnificent array of local art from Somerset and Devon. If you fee inclined to have a peep we are raising monies for Cancer Research and the silent auction may be found here and without noise or fuss you may help the research that is so obviously working. [caption id="attachment_1160" align="alignleft" width="300"] Vineyard at Hooperhayne Colyton[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2427" align="alignright" width="300"] Cricket at Luppitt[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1414" align="alignleft" width="300"] Ecrehou islands betwixt France and Jersey[/caption] [caption id="attachment_1856" align="alignleft" width="300"] Tractor at rest[/caption] t
Using a variety of media and styles the work responds to mood and geography but is more than often an observation of simple scenes in everyday life and on the travels across Europe.
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