Sketchbook Notes: Dawn at New Bridge

To replace the painting sold yesterday in my one-man exhibition in the Little Studio at the Loft Gallery, I’ve chosen Dawn at New Bridge.

What made me paint ‘Dawn at New Bridge’?

For a year, Anne and I rented a stunning house at Bickerton. It belonged to an artist and her husband and, for those twelve months, I worked in the best studio conditions I’ll ever have, for sure.

Work was being done on our Salcombe flat, ahead of putting it on the market, and we spent three years renting various houses in the South Hams. We learnt a lot about the type of house we might eventually want to buy!

During that particular tenancy, I would often drive from Bickerton back to Salcombe and, crossing New Bridge,  Bowcombe, I would enjoy the view across the estuary.

One particular morning, there was a mist, slowly clearing. I felt compelled to stop the car and, reaching for my camera, I captured this magical moment. I especially admired the reflections in the pink water.

Dawn at New Bridge was one of a number of studies that resulted from that pitstop.

Safe Mooring (shown left) was sold to friends who live back in Surrey, when they visited us for our eventual house warming party at Beacon House in 2013.

At that same party, the owner of the boat featured was also identified …

Do you like pink?

If you like the ‘pink’ of these paintings, you might also like New Day at New Bridge, the original of which was sold at Avon Mill. However, the image is still available as a fine art greetings card.

THE SKETCHBOOK NOTES SERIES

This is one of the Sketchbook Notes, a series of posts explaining what inspired me to produce a particular painting.

If you own one of my paintings, or are just curious about an image, let me know; I’ll then write a blog post especially for you!