South Pool Sunrise Archives

Salcombe Town Regatta is an annual fund-raising event and many local charities rely on the success of this week-long fun-filled entertainment to refill the coffers.

It’s timed to coincide with one of the busiest periods in the town. Almost all the holiday homes will be occupied and local campsites too. It’s also the time when residents find friends and family want to visit us.

There’s a packed programme of events for all ages. We look forward especially to the firework display on Thursday 10 August, when we’ll be dining in the Chart room of the Salcombe Yacht Club, among friends from the Salcombe Players Amateur Dramatic group, and marvelling at the sky, full of lights as in the featured image above.

How am I supporting Salcombe Town Regatta?

To support Salcombe Town Regatta, I will be setting up shop (gazebo!) in Island Street on Sunday 6 August, and in Whitestrand on Monday 7 August, selling my fine art greetings cards.

There will all 59 designs on sale, selected from the 135 original paintings I’ve completed in the past decade. Nearly all of them show local scenes that I love.

Why am I supporting Salcombe Town Regatta?

I’ve been visiting Salcombe since I was 9. My parent brought me across from EastPortlemouth and I immediately loved Salcombe as a holiday venue.

For decades I visited Salcombe, staying in rented accommodation and hotels and I dreamt of retiring in Salcombe. Eventually, I became a second-home owner, buying a lock and go flat at Great Gates, in 1997. Then, in 2006, I moved to Salcombe permanently. The flat proved too small as a permanent residence and Anne and I now live in our forever home at the top of Bonfire Hill, looking down over the church and across the ria to the hills beyond.

So, why am I supporting Salcombe Town Regatta? Because Salcombe is now my home …

Such stunning views – perfect for an artist…

The view from the flat in Great Gates was of the beaches: Fishermans Cove, Smalls Beach and Mill Bay.

Low Tide at Fisherman’s Cove

Baltic Exchange III

Tranquility

The view from Beacon House is also stunning! Sunrise or sunset, the rise and fall of the tide provides an ever-changing vista.

South Pool Sunrise

Dawn at South Pool Creek

Gullet Plantation

Affordable art in support of Salcombe Town Regatta

All of these images – and many many more depicting your favourite views of Salcombe – are available as fine art greetings cards. They will be on sale – £2 each, 3 for a fiver – in support of Salcombe Town Regatta on Sunday and Monday.

I look forward to meeting you at Salcombe Town Regatta, and am praying for fine weather!

For more information about the Salcombe Town Regatta, visit their Facebook page.

6 September 2016 In Art

STEWARDING TODAY: 6 September 2016, 11am-2pm

Today, Tuesday 6 September, I’m stewarding at the Loft Gallery from 11am until 5pm.

If you expect to be in Salcombe then, please drop by and say hello!

WHERE IS THE LOFT GALLERY?

The Loft Gallery is situated behind the Fortescue Inn, and above a popular shoe shop, on a delightful footpath called Victoria Quay.

WHAT IS THE LOFT GALLERY?

The Loft Gallery is the home of Salcombe Art Club.

Every year since 1960, the Summer Exhibition opens at Easter and continues until the end of September. In the winter months, the Loft Gallery reverts to being a working studio with a full programme of workshops and classes for its members.

WHO CAN JOIN SALCOMBE ART CLUB?

Salcombe Art Club comprises a mix of artists: some professional artists such as those who teach our classes but also many amateurs and some very new to drawing/painting. Everyone is welcome!

Step 1 is to enroll as a Lay Member. That’s the first rung of the ladder! Then Salcombe Art club has three categories of membership.

Lay members (for a subscription of £12 per annum) may take part in workshops, courses and social activities and generally assist in supporting the club. Lay members may not exhibit, nor vote at the AGM.
Associate members (for a subscription of £17 per annum) may take part in most club activities including exhibiting in the Little Studio section (but not the main gallery) of the Annual Summer Exhibition.
Full members (for a subscription of £27 per annum) may take part in all club activities and exhibit their works in the Annual Summer Exhibition.

WHO EXHIBITS AT THE LOFT GALLERY?

Essentially, exhibiting is limited to the associate and full members of Salcombe Art Club. Full members are invited to display up to five of their works in the Summer Exhibition.

Full – and associate – members may also book a week or more in the Little Studio.

In the Little Studio also, our teachers exhibit material of works produced by the various class groups; this inspires other club members to enroll for classes during the winter months.

FEATURED IMAGE: South Pool Sunrise

The original of South Pool Sunrise is on display at the Loft Gallery as part of Salcombe Art Club Main Exhibition. It shows the Salcombe estuary up to South Pool from my studio at Beacon House Gallery. It’s amazing, with such a glorious view, that I find time to paint!

28 June 2016 In Art

Stewarding today!

oday, Tuesday 28 June, I’ll be stewarding at the Loft Gallery from 11am until 2pm.

If you expect to be in Salcombe then, please drop by and say hello!

I’d be delighted to talk you through the 5 paintings of mine on display in the main exhibition. The two in the featured image above are South Pool Sunrise and Splosh of Frogmore.

WHERE IS THE LOFT GALLERY?

The Loft Gallery is situated behind the Fortescue Inn, and above a popular shoe shop, on a delightful footpath called Victoria Quay, which overlooks one of the best views in the UK including the mooring berth of the RNLI lifeboat Baltic Exchange III.

WHAT IS THE LOFT GALLERY?

The Loft Gallery is the home of Salcombe Art Club and, every year since 1960, the Summer Exhibition opens at Easter and continues until the end of September.

An incredible number of visitors climb the 15 steps to view the exhibition, and more than 200 paintings are expected to be sold during the summer months. A percentage of the proceeds of each sale goes to the Art Club funds and, after expenses have been met, the club donates amounts to local charities. So, buying a painting benefits the artist, the club and the town – and provides a beautiful reminder of a visit to Salcombe. Prices range from £1 for a postcard up to £1000 – and the club now has the facility to accept payments by card, rather than ‘cash only’ as had been the practice for many years.

In the winter months, the Loft Gallery reverts to being a working studio with a full programme of workshops and classes for its members.

WHO CAN JOIN SALCOMBE ART CLUB?

Salcombe Art Club comprises a mix of artists: some professional artists such as those who teach our classes but also many amateurs and some very new to drawing/painting. Everyone is welcome!

Membership of Salcombe Art Cub is not limited to those living in Salcombe. Anyone within striking distance is welcome to apply for membership, but it makes most sense for those who live near enough so as to benefit from the classes in the winter, and – if they intend to become exhibiting members – to fulfil their stewarding obligations during the summer.

Step 1 is to enrol as a Lay Member – that’s the first rung of the ladder! Then Salcombe Art club has three categories of membership.

Lay members (for a subscription of £12 per annum) may take part in workshops, courses and social activities and generally assist in supporting the club but may not exhibit, nor vote at the AGM.
Associate members (for a subscription of £17 per annum) may take part in most club activities including exhibiting in the Little Studio section (but not the main gallery) of the Annual Summer Exhibition.
Full members (for a subscription of £27 per annum) may take part in all club activities and exhibit their works in the Annual Summer Exhibition when they are required to carry out their share of stewarding duties.

WHO EXHIBITS AT THE LOFT GALLERY?

Essentially, exhibiting is limited to the associate and full members of Salcombe Art Club. Full members are invited to display up to five of their works in the Summer Exhibition. This is me with some of mine:

Full – and associate – members may also book a week or more in the Little Studio. In the Little Studio also, our teachers exhibit material of works produced by the various class groups; this inspires other club members to enrol for classes during the winter months.

HOW DO YOU PROGRESS FROM LAY MEMBER SO THAT YOU CAN EXHIBIT YOUR ART AT THE LOFT GALLERY?

The selection panel meet annually (usually in February) to select from Lay members who wish to become Associate of Full members. The usual progression is to become an Associate member for a year and then on to Full membership the following year. Sometimes, the panel may decide to admit a member straight to Full membership.

For more information about Salcombe Art Club, visit their website.

AFFORDABLE ART

Both images are available as a fine art greetings card, at Bonningtons (the newsagents) and Salcombe Information Centre (both a short walk from the Loft Studio).

2 May 2016 In Art

Sketchbook Notes: South Pool Sunrise

This is the view from my studio and it often ruins my concentration, not just with its beauty but also by the speed it changes through the day.

Indeed, the new day’s light arrives so very fast, I have to use my camera to capture the evolving intensity of light and shade that play around this arena we call an estuary. There is no time to sketch it!

So, this is my original photo:

SouthPoolResource

You can see how I folded the printed page to create a square shape. Anne has encouraged me to think ‘square’ as this makes it so much easier for her when the time comes for us to select the next batch of designs for my range of fine art greetings cards!

Comparing this photo with the finished painting, I lightened the whole image, choosing colours which brought it to life: awakened it, literally. I found oil paints a delight when it came to blending the bursting sunshine dissolving an early morning mist.

The rising sun is Titanium White. The early morning mist and its reflections are largely blended Naples Yellow, minute dabs of Lemon Yellow Hue, plus Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange, all lightened with Titanium White. A pale shade of Alizarin Crimson has been applied to warm the distant far-off parts of the estuary, together with a hint of Mauve Blue Shade to mark the hillside.

Where can you see this painting?

South Pool Sunrise is on display at Salcombe Art Club in the Main Exhibition, along with four more of my paintings: Hope Cove, Merlins, Scoble Point Moorings, and Splosh of Frogmore.

The Exhibition is open every day from 11am until 5pm, until 24 September.

I will be at the Exhibition, stewarding, on these dates: 10 May (11am-5pm), 24 May (2-5pm), 14 June (2-5pm), 12 July (2-5pm), 9 August (2-5pm), and 20 September (11am-2pm).

If you are in Salcombe this summer, why not drop in?

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!

25 April 2016 In Art, Sketchbook note

Sketchbook Notes: Scoble Point Moorings

From Easter and onwards through the Summer, in the late afternoon, a strong clear light strikes this part of the Salcombe estuary. The red and white hulls appear to radiate their colours more intensely until the sun drops below the skyline.

Even the mooring buoys know the day is done and the moon will bring another tide.

This is my initial sketch for Scoble Point Moorings.

ScoblePointMooringsResource

Why bother with a sketch?

While a photograph can capture everything, that’s too much information. I need to frame the subject and to simplify what might have been a busy scene. Which craft will I include? Which should I leave out?

Sketching is therefore essential. It enables me to distill the principle points of interest and to identify the tonal areas of the composition and rebalance as necessary.

The sketchbook also serves as a diary, along with my iPad on which I take photos and, of course, my camera. I am grateful the software remembers when and where I take my photos.

So, with the various source materials in front of me and the sketchbook open, foremost in my mind is the tip: ‘look twice, draw once’. Sketching teaches you to watch! It teaches you to aim for brevity.

ScoblePointMooringsResource2

Notice that, in the final composition, I have rearranged the positioning of the various craft, but I took great care to plot the mooring buoys as shown on this photo of my original notes.

And, although my sketch was in watercolour, I decided to using oil paints for this subject – and what was a fascinating journey that was for me.

Where can you see this painting?

Scoble Point Moorings is on display at Salcombe Art Club in the Main Exhibition, along with four more of my paintings: Hope Cove, Merlins, South Pool Sunrise and Splosh of Frogmore.

The Exhibition is open every day from 11am until 5pm, until 24 September.

I will be at the Exhibition, stewarding, on these dates: 10 May (11am-5pm), 24 May (2-5pm), 14 June (2-5pm), 12 July (2-5pm), 9 August (2-5pm), and 20 September (11am-2pm).

If you are in Salcombe this summer, why not drop in?

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!

18 April 2016 In Art

Sketchbook Notes: Merlins

The classic Merlin Rocket carries a two-man (or lady!) crew and has enjoyed a long relationship with Salcombe Yacht Club and the challenging waters of Salcombe Estuary.

I have never helmed, or crewed, this high-performance dinghy. The Merlin sailors love a stiff breeze and to launch their brightly coloured spinnakers when the wind angle permits. They appear to ‘charge’ along, rather than passively sail.

Comparing my source photograph with the finished painting, you’ll maybe notice a number of changes I made to the composition. Merlins

I positioned the shoreline midway, losing much of the foreground water, and brought the choppy water into sharper focus. I also smudged the detail on the beach, so that the sails were given greater emphasis. Last but not least, I added a touch of red, with a buoy, positioned bottom right.

I had great fun with this painting, trying to capture the movement of the Merlins across the estuary and the excitement of their race. And yes, I love to photo the Merlin sailors’ antics; if I blink, I’m sure to miss a dramatic capsize!

The next opportunity to see this fleet – over 100 competitors – in full sail is during Merlin Rocket Week, 10-15 July 2016.

Where can you see this painting?

Merlins is on display at Salcombe Art Club in the Main Exhibition, along with four more of my paintings: Hope Cove, Scoble Point Moorings, South Pool Sunrise and Splosh of Frogmore.

The Exhibition is open every day from 11am until 5pm, until 24 September.

I will be at the Exhibition, stewarding, on these dates: 19 April (2-5pm), 10 May (11am-5pm), 24 May (2-5pm), 14 June (2-5pm), 12 July (2-5pm), 9 August (2-5pm), and 20 September (11am-2pm).

If you are in Salcombe this summer, why not drop in?

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!