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 ...
(more…)
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 ...
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
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 ...
My son Paddy had a birthday two days before my other son Charlie and both could be having lock down blues with a pair of parents rather than their mates. All the young souls need nourishing so I applauded their exploits at 100 miles away: only to be turned back when they had the mission half completed but nevertheless a lot achieved under the Cummings rules, which like with his reasoning, are made to be broken occasionally. Sea, surf and a camper van were suitable mates that day anyway.
It is lockdown but not quite. A lurking requirement needs to be fulfilled not for us but for the buzzing bees much needed in the ecosystem. So we hauled a log of larch hollowed out and prepared by the wonderful Matt Somerville into an unsuspecting oak.....three days it took for a band of little black scouts to work out this could be home. Within a week the place was alive with noise and bombarding bee activity and as the warm May air brought flowers to life the movements became move often and the buzzing from within more loud. No lockdown for these ...
Not that the indigenous peoples of Morocco would necessarily wish to agree but the French influence provides a rather agreeable ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the experience of a visiting incomer. French has integrated into the language to the extent one can often hold a full conversation: but perhaps its most prominent legacy is in the food and there is brilliant fusion through for example the use of fresh herbs and spices with bright uncontaminated tomatoes with things like local mutton and chicken. As we wander through tracks and poor villages see the raw simplicities of the people eking out a ...
Not everyone agrees that walking in the snowy mountains can be every bit as enjoyable as the fast thrill of the skis nicely cutting down a red slope: or was it black but more like blue I'd say? However the thought of all that tramping around in cumbersome extended boots bleeping through the gates into drafty lifts just to fly for a few minutes, perhaps with agony on some muscle or snowboarding hooligan, only to repeat, is a long way from the tranquil soft uncomplicated pull into the parts where clattering metal apparatus and such speed is unknown. Just to the right ...
We have a friend with a lovely place on Paxos - in amongst the olive trees and not far from some stunning rocks with a private view of the sunset. The ideal place for quiet rest and painting. The day consist of three things - a good walk along the shady droves, a swim in the azure warm sea and a paint somewhere along route: however this has to be interspersed by successful coffee time, grabbing some fresh delicacies and a good lunch. Sleep is not allowed. [caption id="attachment_2039" align="alignnone" width="300"] Serenas boat in Loggos[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2038" align="alignnone" width="300"] another of Serena's ...
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.