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~ a romance with art and all things British

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Category Archives: England

Scones, Cake and Tea

15 Sunday Mar 2020

Posted by pat in Art, Cornwall, England, paintings, sketching, Uncategorized, United Kingdom

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cake, painting, scones, St. Ives

Somehow in over 20 years of going back and forth to England I had missed St. Ives, an artistic port tucked away in Cornwall.  This past autumn we put it right. And as is often the case, My Beloved Brit researched on line and found the most glorious spot on a tiny back street hidden in the midst of this famous seaside town.

“Olives” is a truly lovely spot that specializes in tea and scones, but also has marvelous cakes and coffees.  I knew immediately it begged a painting, no matter how daunting the details (That plaid shirt!  That glassware!).

Nonetheless, she persisted.

I loved the colors and the contrasts between hard and soft surfaces.  Slowly I worked on putting a first layer of paint down.

I had taken several photos of our young barista, but loved this layout of reaching for a cup.  The extended arm helped me not lose her in the jumble. Once I had the first pass of color completed I started to slowly return and add detail, highlights and tone.

As i proceeded, I decided where I wanted emphasis.  I spent days on her shirt, face and hair.  But what a release in this time of anxiety to work on such a lovely expression of pure joy.  A full 7 weeks later, working almost every weekday, it was done.

Scones, St. Ives, 30 x 24″, oil

And, by the way, My Beloved Brit had the Vegan Chocolate Cake, and I had Cranberry Scone with clotted cream and jam. One of the best “lunches” we had in England.

Seasons, Hyde Park

07 Saturday Dec 2019

Posted by pat in Art, England, London, paintings, sketching, Travel, Uncategorized

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fall, Hyde Park, trees

Whenever I return to England, there are more than a few places that I want to return to again and again.  High on that list is Hyde Park, on the edge of Notting Hill and Kensington in London.

I’ve gotten to know many of the paths, and love blending in with a morning stroll. Inside the Bayswater Gate, down Broad Walk, and near the hotel we often stay at, there is a magnificent tree that draws my attention no matter what season.

But at the end of autumn when the leaves change and fall…it is magnificent.

I often wonder who will wander beneath it.  In this painting, I have placed a young woman pushing a stroller, which I actually referenced from another photo I took in the Bath Botanical Gardens.

I wanted to make the point of future generations being able to enjoy this same vista. She fit in perfectly.

Once the drama of light and dark is worked out, then to the color. It looks a mess at this stage, but it’s how I work out my palette.

And then it is just layer after layer, building up the detail, keeping the mood. I painted the mother’s coat red to draw the eye to her so she could compete with the magnificent foliage of the tree.

And finally, after weeks of painting, a few stray leaves blowing in the wind to add life and motion to the scene.

“Season’s End (Hyde Park)”, 30 x 24″, oil

English Inspiration

10 Thursday Oct 2019

Posted by pat in Art, Art Museums & Exhibitions, Bath, Burnham-on-Crouch, Cornwall, Cornwall, England, Gardens, Grasmere, Lake District, Lake District, London, paintings, sketching, The New Forest, Travel, Uncategorized, United Kingdom

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We’ve just returned from three weeks in the UK, our first visit in 3 years.  For Mike, it was a whirlwind tour of meeting up with friends and family, trying to catch up with all the news and rehash old stories. I love that part of these trips, but for me, my goal was searching for enough painting resources and inspiration to sustain me in to the future.

These trips give me the space and freshness that I rely on for months in my studio work.  Often I revisit my photos years later, and find a new vision that I hadn’t seen before. There is something about having the time to explore an unfamiliar environment, away from the daily routine.  You see things in a different way. Connections are made, insights discovered.

Whether on country strolls, or museum visits in the cities, it re-charges me for months to come.  This time I took close to 500 photos! But often I just walked and breathed in the images.

We started in Kent, in the Southeast corner of Great Britain and found a great bolt hole between Dover and Canterbury.  It was a beautiful resort, the Broome Park Hotel. Although promoted as a “Golf Resort and Wedding Venue” tucked in to the countryside, I found glorious walks in the early morning across the surrounding fields with no one else around except the birds and sheep. We had a “lodge” on the grounds with two bedrooms a living room and a washer and dryer!  A real bonus for European travel.  And we could walk to the pub in the main manor house at night along the fields for dinner. It was a mid-week bargain, and we could catch up on sleep.

Revived, we found time for a wonderful visit with family in Essex,

and joined up with old sailing mates at the Southampton Boat Show.

And then it was back to the countryside – The New Forest and the Montagu Arms.  The wild horses roam the streets in this unenclosed pastureland, heathland and forest, both in the countryside and through the towns and villages. On one of our very first trips to England together, Mike took me to The New Forest as a special treat, and I still love it.  Perfect weather that first week also helped. Mid-70s and sunny!  Could this really be September in England?

A quick stop at one of my favorite spots, Bath, then we were on our way to Cornwall and St. Ives, a north coast town that is now home to Tate St. Ives Art Museum. It was a challenge to park in the hilly, seaside town and make it down cobblestone streets with luggage in tow to our Inn, The Lifeboat. But when we got there it was worth the challenge. Reception told us it is a right of passage to deal with parking and luggage in St. Ives.  We succeeded, barely, but the reward was a room facing the sea right on the front.

We loved it here.  It was filled with galleries and art for me, and boats and pubs for Mike. It is a huge haven for artists with The Tate in the center of it all.  The exhibitions at the museum focus on the history of many local artists who came here during WWII to escape the bombings in London, and ended up starting a fresh new art colony. The tradition continues with studios tucked everywhere, many of them open during this autumn “Arts Week”.


Mike found a fabulous place in the backstreets of St.Ives, “Olives”, and we did a “lunch” of scones and cake and tea that was to die for. There were winding roads all through the town filled with many surprises, and we often just wandered, seeing where the twisted narrow roads would take us. It was a joy to explore, always looking for a new sea view for dinner.

Finally, we went down to the south side of Cornwall to visit and catch up with more family, and rediscover one of our favorite spots, Charlestown. I actually drove that day from St. Ives to Charlestown on those teeny tiny roads, roundabouts, and confusing lanes through the Cornish country. But we made it without a scratch!

The weather was changing, and fierce winds blew us along our walks from our Inn down the lane to the sea.

We then headed up the west side of England in the rain, across Bodmin Moor

and after a stop in the Cotswolds at a familiar site…The Hare and Hounds…

we were off to the north and The Lake District.

We had four days in the Wordsworth Inn in Grasmere and although the weather finally turned showery and cloudy after over a week of sunshine (very un-British) we didn’t mind. It’s the grey country, after all. And it’s what makes everything so lush and green.

I had brought my rain coat and “brollie” and managed to walk every day, visiting old haunts and discovering new inspiration.

After the best break ever, we headed back down south through Cambridge, home of one of my favorite art museums, The Fitzwilliam, and a room with a view of the punts on the River Cam.

Then on to visit friends at Burnham-on-Crouch, Mike’s old sailing hub,

and finally the last 5 days in London.  Phew!

London meant The National Gallery, The National Portrait Gallery, and The Royal Academy.

We did Notting Hill, Piccadilly, Kensington and Hyde Park…and I even took a rainy afternoon to see a matineee of “Downton Abbey”.  What could be more appropriate.

We even managed to fit in Sunday Roast with friends in the center of London.

Finally Heathrow, and home! To paint…where to even begin?

Now starts the time of looking for connections, sorting through images, thinking of patterns and context of not just the visual images but also the stories that connect us all.  The depth and underlying currents are just as important to me as the visual beauty of our world. Country lanes and city streets with the background sounds of Brexit on the news.  I am already looking forward to the studio season.

A Fondness for Trees

30 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by pat in Art, Bath, England, Gardens, paintings, sketching

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Bath Botanical Gardens

We take so much for granted in this beautiful world.  When I look back at my photos I realize some of my favorite images are of trees in their infinite variety, moods and glorious stretch of branches.

I recently revisited my photos of a trip I took to Bath, England several years ago.  It was November, and I wandered over to the Bath Botanical Gardens on the other side of town.

The trees were glorious and infinitely varied in size, color, and stages of changing foliage.

Coming over a hill, I spied this bench where an owner and her dog had found refuge on the path between the massive trees behind them and the small grove in front which had lost just the top layer of its leaves.

They just sat there forever, taking in the crisp fall afternoon and the beauty around them. At this stage I took the figures out to make them just a little more prominent in the scene

I’ve always had a fondness for trees.  They are worth our efforts to protect them for the future generations of strollers.

“A Fondness For Trees”, 14 x 11″, oil

Here’s Looking Back at Britain

02 Friday Nov 2018

Posted by pat in Art, England, paintings, sketching, Uncategorized

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cows, oil paintings, sheep, swans

This has been a crazy year, and often when the world stage becomes this stress-inducing, I turn again to the English countryside.

Sheep Unshorn, 10 x 10″, oil

I am sure part of its allure is my beautiful British husband.  The charm of his country stole my heart, along with him, years ago.

Cows In Repose, 10 x 10″, oil

But recently, I revisited some earlier trips and found images to paint in small 10 x 10 canvases just perfect to group, or appreciate on their own.

Two Swans Swimming, 10 x 10″, oil

I dropped these off at Gallery 50 in Rehoboth Beach, DE just in time for the holiday season. And I can begin to contemplate the coming winter months in the studio.

Ashford-in-the-Water, 10 x 10″, oil

The perfect time to sit at my easel and paint my memories and dreams.

Highclere, 10 x 10″, oil

Cows, twilight and a moon

20 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by pat in Art, England, paintings, sketching

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cows, The Hare & Hounds

It is the first day of spring today with a forecast of snow tonight…climate is on my mind.  What better way to deal with it than to escape to the perfect English landscape on a summer’s day.

This is the Cotswolds in England a few summers ago, just south of the lovely village of Tetbury, and this scene was the view from our bedroom window at The Hare and Hounds Hotel.  The next morning we were going to tour Prince Charles’ Royal Gardens at Highgrove House which is nearby.

As I watched out the window, the sun began to set, the cows barely moved across the field and the moon rose giving everything a magical quality.

I added the traveler peering over the wall, decided to decrease the size of lamp and have the edge of the wall in the foreground disappear a bit into the rich grass.

I refined the sky with the ever-present British clouds skirting the horizon, and added details to the incredible farm buildings in the distance. I watched this scene from my window until just the moon lit the sky.  The cows didn’t stray far.

Working Title “Moonrise”  oil, 30 x 48″

Will the trees still be here tomorrow?

06 Tuesday Mar 2018

Posted by pat in Art, Bath, England, Gardens, paintings, sketching, Travel, Uncategorized

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Bath Botanical Gardens

I think about the destiny of the natural world for the next generations. With the climate change prognosis so uncertain, I worry that we will miss the window of opportunity to protect such diversity and beauty. I hope it is not slipping away.

My two young grandnieces are the future. They love the outdoors and see it all with that new sense of wonder so common in the young.

I had visited Bath, in the UK, a few years ago in November, when the leaves were falling and everything had a muted, mysterious end of season look to it.

Walking through the botanical gardens, I came across these birch trees, hanging on to their last leaves, framing a gorgeous color palette of greens, rusts and gold.  I had noticed a woman pushing a baby carriage earlier and decided to place her moving in to the distance of this scene.  My nieces, Lilly and Abby, became my models from a photo their mom had taken in a different setting.  I placed them in to this park, put fall jackets on them and had them enter this special space.

This was a difficult one to get the sense of shadowed uncertainty I wanted, but still keep it fresh and hopeful.  I hope I succeeded.

Note my last, final changes in the small details.  There is always a moment when I am not sure I am finished and spend time, often days, just looking, thinking, looking again at other artists work (Doig, Wyeth, Wiesenfeld, Celaya) and making those final decisions that mean it is finished.

I added a leaf over the girls’ head, and a falling leaf between them and the viewer, changed the tone of the green lawn, some subtle rays of sunshine and edited Abby’s hat to be smaller and less “matched” to her jacket.  I was finally finished telling the story.

“Will The Trees Still Be Here Tomorrow”, oil on linen, 40 x 30″

 

 

Children at the Museum

31 Wednesday Jan 2018

Posted by pat in Art, Art Museums & Exhibitions, England, paintings, sketching, Uncategorized

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Cambridge, School visits to Art Museums

A few years ago, I was in Cambridge and saw a museum scene in Cambridge of children relaxed and attentive on the floor of a gallery, contemplating and studying the art.

A patron asked if he could commission a new version with a similar vibe since the first one had sold this past summer. It was a familiar scene I have seen over and over again no matter where I go, a classic…students immersed in the art. So I took it on, trying to be original but capturing the fun and excitement of young students visiting the museum that had worked so well in the former painting.

I chose The National Gallery of Art this time, in Washington DC. I never have a total preconception  of what I will paint.  I always figure I’ll know it when I see it.  I knew I wanted young children in school uniforms visiting a museum. I found lots of school groups.  But not the age I wanted. So I kept looking.

When I walked up to the museum on an early weekday morning reconnaissance mission, I was pleased to see a group of children, in uniforms, sitting on the curb outside the museum.  I had my potential reference, at least for poses and styling details.

I  went in to the Museum, and walked through the galleries trying to decide on the art I wanted to showcase. When I walked in to the gallery with the vivid colors of Caillebotte, I made my choice, and shot several photographs of different angles.

Then for the school group.  I found the children again, and took enough photos of different poses from the back so as not to identify them, to get positions and poses.

I went home to sketch and realized I still wasn’t sure  about proportions in the space.  So back to the Museum for an hour or two of watching children come in and out of the room to determine height and proportion in relationship to the art and room. Perspective was tough.

Finally I had it.  I looked online for different uniform combinations, and decided on the blue, gray and black to compliment the colors in the art.  And only then was I ready for the weeks of sketching and painting and playing with colors and shadow.

Luckily, we were all pleased with results.  More often than not I try to capture models in an actual scene and then change them enough so they suit the scene.  Much easier than the cut and paste method, but with perseverance, this worked out well.

“Child’s Play”, oil on linen, 24 x 30″

Hidden Away

15 Saturday Jul 2017

Posted by pat in Art, Bath, England, paintings, sketching, Travel

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Castle Combe, oil painting

My newest painting “Behind The Hedge” came about a few seasons after I visited a charming village near Bath, England, called Castle Comb. This often happens.  I will re-visit images from past travels.  Certain ones always seem to leap out again and again, and finally I find the time to paint them.

A special place stays amazingly fresh in my memory. This particular morning, after a stroll through the idyllic village, I walked past a hedge that was still changing color in early November.  The colors, the hidden cottage and the water rushing nearby all made for a very fairytale like scene. It was one of many hidden gems throughout the small historic village that seems to have escaped changing times.

It took me a few years, but I have re-visited the images of Castle Combe in the heat of a Washington DC summer, and can almost feel the cool, damp air and smell the fire smoke coming from chimneys.

I have been thinking more and more recently of re-visiting some of these English landscapes that I love.

They are so joyfully simple and beautiful. And the foliage and trees, especially for this late fall visit, offer an incredible palette of soothing color.

A magical escape.

“Behind the Hedge”, 14 x 11″, oil on linen

Port Isaac, aka Doc Martin’s Port Wenn

29 Sunday May 2016

Posted by pat in Cornwall, England, Travel, Uncategorized, United Kingdom

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Doc Martin, Port Isaac, Portwenn

We love the British tv series Doc Martin.  It reminds us so much of our visits to the southwest coast of England.  This trip, we decided to visit the series’ filming location in person, on the north coast of Cornwall near Tintagel (the legendary location of King Arthur’s Court).

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It was a chilly, gray late spring day.  Typical for England.  And the village of Port Isaac (aka Port Wenn) was empty before the big bank holiday weekend coming up.

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We parked in the lot on the outskirts of town and headed down the hill to the town, hugging the coastline. As we turned the curve, things looked awfully familiar.

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The first thing we could pick out was Doc Martin’s surgery, and Burt’s “Large Restaurant”, although of course both were not really what they are on the British comedy series.

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Mike thought it looked very quiet and not like the show at all.

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The streets and shops were almost empty, the cast and crew nowhere to be seen on the quiet streets.

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I saw exactly what I expected, a typical Cornish fishing village that sometimes served as a movie set for a famous popular TV show.

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We headed back up the hill to our car for the hour drive to visit my beloved Brit’s cousins in St. Austell on the south coast.

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Magic.

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