Over the Easter weekend I had a great time in Dorset painting with art pals Tim King, Valerie Pirlot and David Bachmann. Tim managed to find us a super place to stay in Blandford and from there we headed down to the coast each day. The weather was mixed but we just got stuck in…..tackling the wind, rain, flies and swarms of tourists.
Some paintings worked out better than others, a couple of wipers but not a bad haul for a long weekend. Anyway, to the paintings that made it….
Old Harry and Old Harry’s wife (8x14in)
Old Harry and Old Harry’s wife (2) (8x14in)
We had a glorious morning in the sunshine at old Harry on the Tuesday. After the monsoon we had on Monday we toyed with the idea of heading home but I’m pleased we stayed as everyone enjoyed the session and produced some lovely work.
Valerie, contentedly chilled after painting a little gem.
Tim and David at work. In terms of kit I think Tim wins the heavyweight division this time :)
Back of Durdle Door, 10x14in
Towards Bat’s Head, Lulworth (8x10in)
Taking the view on, before the hoardes of tourists turn up!
Old Harry and his wife…again! (10x13in)
When I started this one of Old Harry (above) the tide was fully in but it started to move out and left those interesting dark rocks. It would have been nice to have done another one in the sunshine but the clouds came in and it doesn’t look quite so glorious in the shade. That said, I had just about enough left in the tank to make a small study in the greyer conditions (below).
Rock study, Old Harry Rocks (8x10in)
Some crazy fool (who me!?) suggested heading to Lyme Regis on the day of the ‘monsoon’. After a lengthy drive and trudge along the sea front in the blustery rain David B found a sheltered spot along the Cobb. We were ‘lucky’ to find somewhere to paint. A tough session though…fighting the conditions and drawing a few raised eyebrows and wry smiles from passers by (there weren’t that many!). I nearly wiped this several times but it somehow made it to the finish line.
Damp day, The Cobb, Lyme Regis (8x10in)
At this point I’d at least managed to get the paint to stick to the board.
Valerie and David, strategically located in a handy shelter (not mentioning the drips David)
Tim….are you having fun?
Rocks from Durdle door, 8x10in
I was perched quite precariously for the one above…..
Thanks to Valerie for this shot….who was perched opposite on the other cliff
Whilst Tim went AWOL in search of the ultimate view…ah yes…there he is!!
A thoroughly enjoyable trip and I’m sure I’ll be back to paint those white cliffs again! More coastal action soon with a return trip to Sennen on the horizon.
Well, I'm sure you would have had more fun if the sun was shining all the time, yet you should be very happy with the results – very pretty paintings! I like the first ones the most – that water is adorable.
Will look forward to seeing more cliffs.
Kristina
AMAZING PAINTINGS!!! The ones with old Harry with the sun light which has some purple cool shadows against those warm lights is cracking! Great post with the pictures that speak louder than words-it seems a great trip to me! One day, one day-I'll be able to join you on these painting adventures!
Wonderful post and paintings David! There is such a great quality in the way you handle water with paint. Lovely colours and feeling in all of them. I like your comments too, it made me laugh and reminded me of that great trip. Gutted to miss Sennen!
Great post and photos! Thank you
Love you work
Thanks :) Glad you like them.
Thanks for the kind comment Valerie. Those colours in the water around Old Harry were amazing when the sun was out. I'd love to got back there some day. Glad you enjoyed the photos/comments as a reminder of what was indeed a great Easter trip. I'm sure it won't be long before you head for the coast again and there's Venice to look forward to as well!
Thanks Banji. Yes…you really should join us on a trip soon….they're great fun and the collective spirit you get working together is fantastic. It's nice to have the company of other artist friends and take the opportunity to share a few tips and tricks :) Valerie devised a clifftop umbrella system that I'm aiming to try out! If you ever get the chance to paint Old Harry in the sun you should do it….I guarantee you won't be disappointed!
Thanks Kristina :) You're quite right, more sunshine would've been nice (like it was a couple of weeks ago!) but we were quite lucky to get a few sunny windows to work with. I think the Old Harry ones turned out better, helped along no doubt by the adrenalin from being so inspired by the place. It's such a great spot and seeing as it's a bit of a hike (just over a mile) to get there from the car park it's not flooded with people like it was at Durdle Door and Lulworth. Still plenty of midges though…Tim devised a handy 'fly remover' :)
Nice to see your paintings of Dorset, Dave. Didn't realise that was Old Harry's wife! And interesting to see the photos of artists in situ.
Thanks Hypactica…btw Old Harry is the small stack at end and his wife is the big rock next door.
David, another very enjoyable post! What an amazing place to paint, although you all do look rather cold.(I can't help but feel slightly jealous of all the wonderful places you and your friends paint.) As always your paintings capture both the look and feel of the place. Hope all is going great for you this spring.
Doug
Thanks Douglas…glad you like the post and the paintings :) It was indeed pretty chilly. We all had several layers on, including thermals! Despite the mixed conditions and cool temperatures we were lucky on the wind front. When perched on those cliffs, any sort of breeze can make painting with an easel/tripod problematic. If it gets windy I usually sit on the ground with the pochade on my lap but it wasn't necessary this time. Hope things are good with you and you're getting some Spring painting in.
David… a bunch of excellent paintings, Old Harry and his wife. No 2 is the business, you nailed the shadow most brilliantly! And the water reflections, and the arch! A wow painting for sure. Ian
Thanks Ian! That shadow moves quite fast but it makes for a lovely subject. The white cliffs are very bright when they reflect the sun but once the eyes tune in a bit you start to pick up some of the subtle colour/tonal shifts. I don't know why it's not as well known as Durdle door…it didn't have any where near as many visitors but for me it's more spectacular to look at.
Yes, a brilliant collection. I particularly envy you the Lyme sketch – a great job done in adverse conditions. I think you got the Old Harry tones and colours just right – that mix of warm and cool in the shadowed areas is perfect – and I was just as impressed with the first two as the last ones because the subject was more of a challenge. I hope that you will consider scaling something up for the ROI.
Thanks Tim :) Yes indeed, those shadows were very tricky as they're generally cool and yet have notably warm bits coming through from the rock itself. I used the warm ground colour to show through the cool tones and give a touch of colour vibration. I must say I thought you did an excellent job of managing the warm/cool balance yourself!
I'll consider a 'big one'….are you tempted?
Some great work there, i.e. those delicate colours of light and shadows on Old Harry & Wives against the sea. Also good to see Valerie working hard :-) at 'Painters Repose' position which she is so expert at see here, 3rd pic down, http://paint-gallery.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Cheddar%20Gorge. An adventure, surviving the Cob and living to tell the tale too.
Thanks Andrew. Yeppety yep, you know Valerie's bagged a winner when she's rewarded herself with post painting nap :) We always seem to get a tricky day on these trips at the Cobb certainly took the prize on this occasion!