Here is the second post about my recent trip in Cornwall as a part of the Bath Prize 2012 (
click here to view the first post). As I was staying in Porthleven, I took the chance to go back to Marizion beach and paint again St Michael's Mount (I painted at the same spot on a previous Cornwall trip). It was a lovely sunny day with enough clouds to give some drama to the compositions. I did 3 paintings on the day.
The first painting below was painted from a little viewpoint just off the road. The lovely blues in the sky and purple/blues/greens in the water were begging to be painted:
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| St Michael's Mount from the coast, Marizion 9"x12" oil on board |
Below you can see my setting. It think it is some kind of viewpoint where people can stop the car and take photographs. Some people popped by and I made myself useful by taking pictures of couples standing in front of the Mount. I could almost have started a business there and charge people for it but then I remembered I had a painting to do :-)
As I was painting, someone asked me if I was there to paint the Queen. (??) Apparently, she was coming 2 days later to visit the castle on St Michael's Mount! Unfortunately, I was there only for the day, so the Queen and I will have to reschedule a painting session at an other time...
Again, the lazy me found a convenient place to sit as there was a concrete bench. I could just see above the railing so it didn't actually obstruct my view like it does on the photograph.
As usual, I kept the brushstrokes lose and included the minimum amount of details possible to try to capture the essence of the place:
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| Detail |
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| Detail2 |
After a lovely lunch with my mum at
Ben's Cornish Kitchen (I told you my mum was good at feeding me between paintings!), I set up on the beach to capture the changing tide and moody sky:
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| Marazion beach, Cornwall - sun between the clouds 16"x9" oil on board |
I really enjoyed doing this painting and getting my fix of fresh seaside air!
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| The painting towards the end |
The sea had some lovely turquoise and green colours in it and the water was very sparkly when the sun came out:
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| Detail |
Finally, I did a last little study of St Michael's Mount from the beach (see below). I loved the way the blue sky was piercing through the grey clouds and how the puddles of water on the sand are reflecting the colours of the sky. I know that we can moan a lot about the weather here in England, and probably only get about a week worth of summer, but to me, it offers the most beautiful moody skies and is a paradise for painters!
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| St Michael's Mount from Marazion beach, Penzance 7"x10" oil on board |
Talking about summer, you can see my stylish summer look below as I was being snapped by a paparazzi from behind the dunes!
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| The painting towards the end |
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| Adding the final touches... |
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| Detail |
That was my last painting of the trip as we had to head back the following day. Here are some pictures taken of Porthleven that evening bathed in the evening sun. I didn't get the chance to paint it on such a nice sunny light but might consider doing some studio works from it:
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| Porthleven harbour |
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| My mum enjoying the views |
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| Boats on the harbour |
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| Beautiful typical english houses in the evening sunshine |
Most of my Porthleven and Cornwall paintings will be on show and for sale at the end of June at the
Guildhall Arts Centre in Bristol (BS1 2HL)
as a part of the show "Inspired" - showcasing around 600 paintings, sculptures and works of Art, which precedes the Bristol Prize 2013. More info will follow.
