Magnificent March in Cornwall

We are experiencing temperatures we usually expect in July and August at the moment.  Combined with the freshness of Spring, everyone is trying to spend as much time outside as possible at the moment.

Up early this morning, I captured a couple of photos.  From where I live, I only have to walk 500 yards and I am on the beach and cliffs.  This also means access to the southwest path which runs all around the coast of Cornwall and Devon.  A favourite walk is along the cliff top to Northcott Mouth.  The views back towards the Bude Bay are amazing and like a lot of Cornwall, spectacular and easily accessible.

Don is a keen nature watcher and spotted the first sandmartins of the year returning to their cliff side nests.  We also watched the larks pairing off and flocks of gulls were way out to sea feeding on small fry that had come up to warm in the sun.  What would have topped it off was to see a bass darting through the surf and waves. The sun was directly behind us and still fairly low in the sky, making the waves translucent as they formed before breaking into surf. The gorse is a fantastic contrast to the blues of the sea and I took several photos. This photo is particularly for some friends who have been landlocked for a few months at a ski resort in France.  Although I know they have had a fantastic time, I think this will make it easier to come home.

 

Who is Sue Read? Case of mistaken identity

I am Sue Read…. but I am not the only Sue Read. The telephone rang this morning “Hello”.  ”Are you Sue Read, the artist?”. “Yes” I said. He added,  ” I am actually speaking to the artist?”.  ”Yes”.  I am getting quite excited at this point. Whoever is on the other end of the line is quite surprised and in awe!.  He continued  ” I bought two of your paintings 15 years ago, a bowl of grapes and …”  Oh!  He’s not really looking for me, because I have never painted a bowl of grapes.

I had a similar phone call about a year ago from a gallery asking me to collect a painting.  So the other Sue Read is quite elusive and a bit of a mystery.  The gentleman who phoned me this morning said he was told that she was a very fine artist and her work was worth quite a bit, so he must have thought he had hit the jackpot when I answered his call.

My own internet research found that she is a very fine artist indeed, painting still life in watercolour and is a member of the Royal Institute of painters.  Perhaps one day I will be as illustrious and the person on the other end of the line won’t be so disappointed.

 

Bongo becomes a makeshift studio

I have been wanting to paint outside for a long time.  Photographs just aren’t giving me what I want and the memories are not held strong enough for detail, so I emptied out all the camping gear and pushed the seats as far forward as possible. This made a space just big enough for me to climb in the back, have some shelter from the elements but also a great view into the open when the back door is up.

Bongo studio

 

With a flask of tea made I drove to Widemouth Bay and positioned myself in the viewpoint carpark.  It was then I discovered I hadn’t packed any yellow paint.  I had grabbed a selection of umbers, blues and white and siennas, thankfully including raw sienna which would have to mix to provide some dull yellows.  It was a grey day anyway,so although somewhat challenging, I was up for it and managed to mix most of the colours I wanted.

The light was perfect, slightly misted in the distant, with a grey sea which set off the blue greys and pale ochres, and burgundys of the brush and grasses on the cliff, and I managed to also get several good photographs for future projects.

Although a bit tight for space, it worked fine.  I could jump out to refresh the water, spatter paint if needed, or keep cosier in the confines of the back of the van which was much more comfortable, painting out of the very sneaky cold wind.  Just as well you can’t see the middle of the van…. thats where all the junk from the back has been thrown!

  

 

 

Is Art a Struggle? No… it’s exciting!

Every painting experience is full of emotion.  The anticipation, the vision, the joy, the disappointment, the frustration ….. the struggle.  Hopefully it turns itself around at some point and you end up with something you are pleased with.

” Working spontaneously can be tiring because you are struggling with your instinctive urge to control everything.”

My greatest inspiring Art teacher, Rosina taught me to throw away the rule book, play and have no judgement, but instead to follow my instinct and intuition.  The result was totally freeing. There are no mistakes.  It taught me to keep going with a painting. Though there is almost always a crisis point, a point where you want to stop or throw it away, it always results in something much much better.

“If art is hard, it’s because you’re struggling to go beyond what you know you can do”

Never give up on a painting.  Ok…. walk away from it, leave it for a few days and come back to it with fresh eyes.  All is never lost.  Art is not a struggle – see it as a point where you are entering the unknown and be excited!!

p.s.  the above has been written after one such dilema today.  The solution was take my canvas, run it under the shower, merge the paint, rub some away and end up with a totally new spontaneous effect that was perfect  and has led to fresh ideas and a new direction. 

 

 

Bloggers Unite, We Can Change the World

I have literally dropped my paintbrush as I had an epiphany, a “thought”, a “new post” I wanted to hold on to.  Grasping it by the tail, I pulled it back desperately trying to hang onto the words.

I think I might have written a diary for two weeks when I was a young girl …… I don’t know why I didn’t keep it up and I have always admired anyone who does.  I started out writing my blog as a marketing tool to promote my artwork to the masses, but it has developed into something much more cathartic.  It has led to a greater understanding of what I am doing and  many many  more questions.

Other people have said how much blogging has helped their art.  But it goes way beyond this. It connects you with other bloggers, people’s own thoughts and personal experiences who in their own journey of life are recording  information, allowing it to be shared, changing and challenged in the most subtle way; the way we think and live our lives. This ultimately has a knock on effect on those around us.

So, whilst the internet has made us in some respects more internal, I think it has also given us greater humanity, generosity and made us smile. So keep Blogging…. We can Change the World.

Footnote:  I decided to look up the definition of “cathartic” . From the myriad of words, the definition that was most pertinent to this post was “it is an emotional release linked to a need to release unconscious conflicts, a spiritual renewal ”  As I see it, we are conditioned through childhood to hold certain beliefs, things that we think are right and true and ways to control the emotions attached to these beliefs.  But … we can change that and this is what I believe us Bloggers are doing.

 

A Bigger Message – hand, eye and heart

When I first saw David Hockney’s paintings of his home territory in Yorkshire, I wasn’t sure about them. This is a very generalised statement as I don’t think any art can be judged unless seen in the flesh. Was it their simplicity?  Their greenness!!… that almost pure viridian than seems unreal.  But then I realised what the landscape meant to him and I could totally relate to that.  Although my surroundings are very different, the connection to the landscape runs just as deep. This may be heightened in the artist eye seeing the landscape in colour and form, peeling back the layers.

I am a great believer that things come to us at the right time – “the law of attraction “as many call it and this is one such instance.  I came across a blog called “When the light gets in” – a collection of musings on all things art. I have only followed it for a month, but the most recent post caught my eye.

“A Bigger Message – Conversations with David Hockney  , Hand, Eye and Heart.”  in which Hockney is quoted as saying ” I have always loved this part of the world, I have known it for a long time” ….. exactly how I feel too.

The book is ordered!  and contains a collection of conversations between the artist and art historian and friend Martin Gaysford.  I think I am going to learn a lot from this and it might begin to help me understand why I feel such an emotional connection with my landscape and why I feel compelled to express it through the medium of paint.

Here is the link to the post ” A bigger message”

http://gerryco23.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/hockneys-bigger-message-hand-eye-and-heart/#comment-2966

 

Mordros

Mordros  is a Cornish word for the sound of the sea.  It is thought that such a word only exists in Cornish and Polynesian.  Given the shape of cornwall, the fact that it has 300 miles of coastline and you are never far from the sea, it’s hardly surprising.  Even when the sea is out of view, you can often hear it, as the sound echos up the valleys or even a few miles inland in the still of night when there is a ground sea running.

Living so close to the sea,  we take this sound very much for granted and barely notice it.  So next time you are in Cornwall, shut your eyes and listen for the sound the of sea.  I have been told that there are several other words in the Cornish language which are all sea related, and I am keen to find out more, so will add them in a future post.

My interest in Mordros has inspired my latest paintings and this is to be the title for my exhibition in June.  Everyone who lives near the sea has their favourites, A new one I heard today was sea fret, which describes the misty rain that comes in off the Atlantic.  Any more? 

 

Winter Bonus in the Bongo

Between painting days, there are the usual jobs to be done, housework, shopping etc.  Todays list included helping a friend with a decorating dilema, a spot of shopping for my mother and collecting some logs from the farm to keep the fires going.

I was lucky enough to grow up on a working farm and although I have been living down the road for nearly 30 years now since I got married, it is like going home.  My childhood is so full of memories and experiences, although that way of like has changed dramatically over the years.  But the basics haven’t changed at all.  We went to fetch logs from the endless supply of old trees or fallen trees that are chopped and seasoned every year  but ended up with a veritable feast in the van – fresh eggs, sprouts on stalks, a swede, homemade seville marmalade and four skinned rabbits. How lucky are we!

 

Beach sketch and coffee

Blessed with another beautiful January day, I remembered my camera and sketch book this time on my return to Northcott Mouth.

Early morning January at Northcott.

Don had a day off, so came to and got the gas fire going. Although it looks beautiful, there was a sharp frost even to the cliff edge and after just a few minutes of sketching, it was lovely to wrap the fingertips around a mug of coffee.

Much needed coffee on the go

We spent all morning sat on the beach watching the waves crashing in. For January the weather the past few days has been a real exception.I managed to get some sketching done, though sitting on frosted grass for too long is not to be recommended……

sketching in my fetching flatcap!!

 

Has January ever been so beautiful

The weather has a profound effect on how most people feel.  January is usually the month of being shut indoors with the fire roaring, while the wind blows and the grey skies are here all day.  The past few days however have been beautiful and we have been out all day today and it has been very uplifting.  An early walk to Northcott Mouth  from Crooklets Beach was absolutely beautiful.  Cold, crisp and clear.  The offshore breeze was lifting the surf as it rolled in onto the beach and then pulled back taking the stones with it.  The sun was still low and creating the most beautiful light through the crests of the waves.  It was possible to follow the surf reflected in front of the wave as it curled over and the white reflected edge followed it.  There were no surfers here, although several were in the water at Crooklets.  Just a few early birds who had brewed up a flask of coffee and were wave watching with us.  My one regret was not taking a sketch pad and my camera.  The light was wonderful and I have captured a visual snapshot, but I will returnturn tomorrow to take down notes and get pictures .