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~ a romance with art and all things British

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Category Archives: Grasmere

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.

It’s Lambing Season in England

12 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by pat in England, Food, Grasmere, Lake District, Travel, Uncategorized

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lambing season

My very first trip to England, I managed to drive up to the Lake District.  It was April and gorgeous.  I didn’t understand what all this fuss about rainy England was about.  I had clear skies the entire trip. Maybe that’s why I have always looked on England so favorably. It was good from the start.

I saw fields of yellow as I made my way north after a gorgeous stay in London.  Even picking up my manual rental car in London that I had to shift with the “wrong” hand couldn’t sullen my mood. (Manual shift cars are standard in Europe unless you specify automatic–there were many Americans at the rental desk that Sunday morning arguing the point when they discovered they had not reserved an automatic)

Spring Lamb. Photo by me

The first time I saw Grasmere I was in love.  I got a tiny room at a lodge on the outskirts of town.  It meant a leisurely stroll along the fields to go to dinner in the village.  It was lambing season, and all the new born lambs were skipping and playing in the fields.  They were already marked with a bit of bright paint, I assume to identify their owner.  But as far as they were concerned, the world was theirs.

Ready for spring? Almost time for the lambs to appear. photo by me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I must admit, I was a bit put off when I went to the restaurant in the village with a lovely view of the fields of lambs.  Of course, I should have guessed it was a mainstay on the menu that night.  Spring lamb.  A little too close for comfort.  I ordered the fish.

 

To see the light

23 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by pat in Art, Grasmere, Lake District, paintings, Uncategorized

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Lake District, painting

One of the biggest challenges and most satisfying subjects in art is trying to capture the light on 3-dimensional objects on a two dimensional canvas.

Case in point.  One of my favorite walks in the Lake District is near Grasmere.  Very early one morning I decided to go out for a walk and see if I could capture the early light.

Grasmere, the village by the lake. photo by Mick Knapton, creative Commons

It was a truly gorgeous morning in summer, and My Beloved Brit happily decided to join me.

The village of Grasmere, Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0

 

We wound through the village and took off across the lakeside path.  Shortly we saw the early light coming through the trees exactly what I was looking for.

"Silken", painting by me

It was gorgeous.  You could breath in the damp warmth of the early dew.  Everything was golden and the air was still stretching and moving as it woke up to the morning light.

The two little paintings I did were only 16 x 12 but I still think of that morning in Grasmere every time I look at them.

The Enclosure, oil painting by me

My 4 favorite art materials

14 Monday Nov 2011

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

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art, drawing, oil painting, pastels, pen & ink

Of course you should know by now, if you have been following this blog, that I love to make “pictures”.  I am driven.  Put a pencil in my hand and somehow I start drawing wobbly lines.

I have always thought it is curious that people who don’t think they can create art say “I can’t draw a straight line”. Neither can I.  My lines swirl and gash and streak, but very rarely go straight.  Every once in awhile I do a piece featuring architecture and have to concentrate on edges and angles,

Metropolitan Spring, oil on canvas, private collection

…but more often than not, the lines move in waves and swirl around the paper or canvas in organized abandon.

Wave #9, oil on canvas, artist's collection.

Finding my inspiration in England is perfect for my style of movement and emotion.  The whole countryside seems to swirl with energy.  I am never more pleased than walking in the country with a breeze blowing and a faint mist in the air.  Of course those days of pure sunshine in England are also nice, and I have experienced my fair share of those.

An early morning walk in the Lake District near Grasmere

I have created art for more years than I can count, and I thought it might be of interest to talk about why I chose the mediums I do to work with.  We fine artists all have our personal favorites, and like old friends we become very comfortable with them knowing their strengths and accepting their weaknesses.

1. Oil Paint – this has to be my all time favorite.  I am sure one of the reasons is that the oil painting studio is where I spent the majority of my artistic time at University.  I must admit I never did well with stretching the canvases, but I loved the glistening, smooth paints gliding over the surface.

My paint box in sweet disarray

The variety of color is inspirational, and if I add a touch of linseed oil, I can layer the pigment in a way that bits of color from each layer shimmer through.  It dries slowly so at different stages I can either mix other colors through the layer if it is still wet, or put a sheer layer over the dry so it comes through. It is such a forgiving process.  I can change my mind a thousand times, I can stroke it or scrape it or pile it on. (See my post Art on the Move to see how that works)

Metropolitan Spring in the studio

Everytime I look at a display of those tubes of paint in a store or catalogue or online, I am like a child in a candy store with too many choices.  One of my favorite parts of beginning a painting is choosing the colors. Sometimes wanting to try a unique color palette will drive my subject choice.

2. Pastels  – I was in Yosemite National Park in California on holiday by myself many years ago (before MBB) and I decided this was just too good to pass up, art-wise.  I had no art materials with me (I have since learned and never go on holiday without at least a good sketch pen) so I went in to the art supply store in the center of this gorgeous valley.  How considerate of them to sell art supplies right in the park! There on the shelf, right next to the Ansel Adams calendars, was a set of pastels and a small sketch book which I thought would be easy to put in my pack.

My current pastel box. The choices of color are limitless with blending!

I spent the entire vacation trying to figure out how to use the things, and finally realized if I layered the colors like I did the oils and blended it with finger, eraser or other tool, it had a wonderful effect. Pastels have become a true friend.

A wild color study of a flamboyant tree done in pastels, collection of the artist

3. Conté – this is a intriguing mixture of compressed charcoal or graphite mixed with a wax base. Conté crayons are most commonly found in black, white, and sanguine tones ( a blood red that is perfect for accenting areas).

It is harder than chalk (almost like a soft pencil), but can blend like pastel.  I remembered using it in school when quite young, and when I noticed it on a shelf of an art supply store, I thought this would be fun.

Pineapple, private collection

It works, again, with the same layering and blending technique I use with oils and pastels. I can build up my layers, blend them on the paper with the edge of my eraser, and then easily add sharper detail on top.

a conte drawing on colored paper

4. Pen & Ink: If you read my post, The Art of Sailing, you can understand why I love pen & ink.  With a small sketch book in my pocket and a pen, I can capture the world as I walk through the countryside. It is perfect for those English days when a camera is best kept in your pocket.

I have always used pen & ink as a sketching tool, a way to recall what I have seen rather than a finished medium, but I keep thinking I will explore it more one day.  It recalls Rembrandt and Durer, and I am always surprised how one small innocent tool can create such a variety of effects with marks and cross hatches and swooshes (a technical term for letting your hand go wild with pen on paper).

If you’ve ever thought you’d like to experience making art, just try it.  There are so many materials to explore.  And, who knows, you just may find a new way to express yourself and make friends with your own favorite material.

Look at my website for more of my art.

 

When do the leaves turn red?

17 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by pat in Art, Grasmere, Lake District, paintings

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art, autumn, fall color, Grasmere, Lake District

Our first sign that autumn has really arrived is the local pumpkin patch, already selling all shapes and sizes of those beautiful orange signs of pre-Halloween.

On a trip to England I asked My Beloved Brit when the leaves change in England in the fall.  We were walking through the village of Grasmere in the beautiful Lake District in late summer, and lo and behold I spied a few leaves already changing. I could smell the gingerbread in the air, as the first few leaves drifted down.

He explained to me that England didn’t really have those fall colors that I had grown up seeing in New York.  In England, one day they turn, and the next they are on the ground.  Or so it seemed to him.

I still was able to find enough color for reference for “Autumn Branches”, and every fall when I see the leaves just start to change I think of that afternoon in Grasmere, walking down the lane.

"Autumn Branches", oil painting, the artist's collection

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