Cornwall Art Map 2012

Galleries have a number of overheads with business rates, rent, wages etc, so it is not surprising that they have to charge up to 60% commission to sell your work.  This also means inflating your own price by a huge margin or selling your work for a pittance.

Being able to promote your art via your own website or online galleries has reduced costs but it is still somewhat limiting when trying to gain access to the wider public.

So… welcome to ARTMAP, the brainchild of Victor Rogers.  In its fourth year, this is a  map of Cornwall showing cornish artists that can be contacted directly, with information on websites, exhibitions and a sample of  work.  These will be distributed to all the tourist information centres, large houses and gardens, some hotels and other points of contact for tourists visiting the area.

This will be my first year on ArtMap and being in the North of the county I am out on a bit of a limb, but at least am not lost in the myriad of names in the heel of Cornwall. Lets hope it will be worth it.

www.artmaps.co.uk

 

 

Autumn and Winter brings beautiful light over the landscape

The sun of high summer gives clear blue skies and little shadow, but when the sun is lower in the sky and you are more aware of the break of the day and the setting of the sun, it provides endless variations in colour and light in the sky.  Those brighter autumn and winter days sparkle as light filters through the hedges and trees with a soft warmth.  I walked the breakwater at Bude early one morning last week as the sun was just rising. It rises over the back of the town and the sun shone down over the beach and this early warmth created a lovely distant mist.

Daybreak and mist from the breakwater, Bude

 

A natural Man Mermaid? – Bude has a Merman!

Maybe summer isn’t over after all.  After days of either cold wind or rain, we can finally get out for nice evening stroll. I do believe Bude has a natural Merman!!  From a certain angle this rock off Wrangle Point ( slightly north of crooklets beach) certainly has the look of one.  What do you think?

Wrangle Merman

There was also a beautiful sunset.  We thought we had missed it as it dipped behind the cloud, but by the time we had got on top of the cliff, it appeared again before quickly dropping off the horizon.

Sun dropping off Wrangle Point. click to enlarge

 

 

More Paintings- “An Eye to Cornwall”

Dimity, Widemouth Bay

It takes time to get all this internet stuff sorted, so sorry for the unprofessional disjointed way I have presented it.  Its a case of finding time to edit, crop and present pictures of my paintings.  Some of the following are some of the smaller paintings on show, but with no less impact.  One is the largest at  I wonder how they reproduce in your eyes and how they compare in real life.

Windblown Gorse in a Cornish Hedge

Summer Warmth

Dancing Surf on an Incoming Tide 100cm square

 

“An Eye to Cornwall”

Short break over, it was all systems go to get my paintings together for Stephanie Meads to hang the exhibition at the Willoughby Gallery at the Castle, Bude. Cornwall.  Entitled “An Eye to Cornwall”, it showcases the work of four cornish painters,  Tom Henderson Smith, Liz Cleves, Shelagh May and myself, Sue Read.  I have included some of the paintings on show below.

Oil and Acrylic on Linen canvas 80cm x 50cm

Northcott Mouth, Oil, Ink and Acrylic 50cm sq

 

 

 

 

 

Foragers Champagne and Fritters

Last June I made elderflower champagne for the first time and with everything blooming a few weeks early this year, my friend Shirley and I went out to collect our elderflower heads. Preferably they should be picked when the first sun of the morning hits them and their perfume is most concentrated.  It is very easy to make and I think after experimenting with two recipes last year, I have come up with the perfect recipe.

In a very clean bucket or trug, mix 1kg sugar with 2 litres of boiled water and stir until dissolved.  Add a further 6 litres of cold water. To this, add 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and the zest and juice of three large lemons.  Add approx 25 – 30 heads of elderflower and stir and cover.  Stir a few times over the next three days and then decant through muslin into sterilized plastic bottles and fill to within 2 inches of the top.  Leave for approx two weeks and then loosen the tops to check if they have started to ferment.  Over the next couple of weeks, if the bottles start to bulge, release the pressure very carefully before screwing the tops back on very tightly.  You should now be safe to leave it for another month ideally before it is ready to drink.

Elderflower Heads

With a few heads left over ( it’s always difficult to tell how much you have picked), for the first time, I am going to  make elderflower fritters. Never having had them before, I am keen to try them cooked in a light batter and dusted with icing sugar whilst still warm.  yum!!!!!!

As it is so prolific, I have also made a cordial to mix with prosecco, wine, sparkling water and it’s delicious drizzled over ice cream and cakes.

 

A day to cherish – our wedding street party!!

Our street party for the Royal Wedding was the most amazing day.. After watching the TV coverage and dashing to friends to catch some of it, the road closure signs were put out and it was all go from the minute the bell was rung up and down the street.  Everyone was out, carrying their tables, flowers, food, chairs and helping their neighbours set up.

Pinning down the cloths

Friends and family joined in and there was a wonderful atmosphere on a beautiful day, as we all shared our scones, cakes and sandwiches along with stories of old as people took in the memory and history boards of the road that had been put together.  There had never been as street party here before and it will certainly not be the last. Residents made the effort to talk to as many different people as possible, with new friendships being formed and for some, old friends rediscovered. The triumph of the day had to be  the entertainment provided by residents, Dick and Ann Dingle who played accordian and guitar all afternoon.

By Golly, I do believe Kim has a cup of tea in her hand.

The cutting of the Wedding Cake for all to share

Music has a way of lifting the spirit like nothing else and it was a “party” in the true sense of the word. A perfect way to celebrate where young and old got together and where bonds of friendship will bind us together in the true sense of neighbourliness.  The  tables weren’t cleared off the road until 8′ish  as the last embers of the barbeque died down.  Talk was of making it an annual event, or at least for next year for the Diamond Jubilee.

 

Summers early arrival, an Anniversary and we meet a Gentleman of the Road

The weekend has brought the most fab weather.  Clear blue skies, sparkling seas and our 28th wedding anniversary!!  A seafood lunch and 2 glasses of sauvignon blanc at lunchtime overlooking Summerleaze beach here in Bude ( should have taken my camera!) made for a perfect way to spend it . We have had another warmer summer-like day today, to kick start the tourist season with Easter approaching next weekend.  Certainly for the past two or three years we have had our summer in the late Spring, so we are hoping this pattern is not being repeated this year!  Six more months of this please!!  It’s always lovely to meet new people too and Don got talking to a “gentleman of the road” – Thomas.  He is a regular summer visitor to Bude and frequents the beach where he plays backgammon with the local kids and stays whatever the weather.  A friend fixed his trolley last year when the wheel became wobbly and its still in one piece. He has some great stories to tell and although he chooses to live an alternative life, I hope people don’t judge him by it as he is very friendly.

 

Glorious sunshine, glorious bunting

Preparations are well under way for the street party we are organising for the forthcoming Royal Wedding of William and Kate. We had a wonderful turn out on Sunday afternoon for bunting making with people digging out some fabulous fabrics from their attics and all ages were busy cutting out pennants, glueing, and stapling.

At a rough estimate we made 150 metres of the most colourful bunting to decorate our street.  We finished off with the last bottle of my elderflower champagne. It seems the whole street will be out looking for elderflowers come June to make their own. It was a great way to get people together and was a great way to kickstart the event as people swapped stories about who lived in the road and what it was like in years gone by. Our next quest is to get together some history.  There should be plenty as there are over 80 houses in the road with the earliest dating from 1901.

 

Bude Barrel gets a lick of paint

The barrel at the end of the magnificent breakwater is getting a spring lick of paint.  I often walk into town via the beach, and was surprised to see scaffolding rising out the sea.  I could see that it was wrapped around the barrel. This barrel marks the treacherouse rocks at the end of the breakwater in Bude, which are for most of the day submersed under the sea and its waves.  The last time it was painted I think the marines were called in to do the job with a few ladders. Obviously health and safety has dictated that scaffolding now needs to be erected.  This does look very strange rising out of the sea!!

barrel rock getting a lick of paint