Category Archives: England

To see the light

23 Monday Jan 2012

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

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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

The art of making art

21 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by in Art, England, paintings, Uncategorized

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I spent the week in my studio trying to explore a new direction in my painting, and it was a struggle. But finally I felt I had some success, and was happy with the new results.

The studio, my photo, my painting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the questions I’m often asked is “Where do you get your inspiration? How do you decide what to paint?”

I can’t really explain it.  I know I have a particular stroke and rhythm to my painting, and it seems to work well with the distinct rhythms of the natural world. I am always trying to interpret that flow and change of nature in my work. And I also love color.

But it can also come from a group of people engaged in conversation or an interaction of many individuals. I like to tell a story, or create a memory as I play with color and texture. Sometimes I’ll be out and a scene or visual will intrigue me and I want to explore it in art. I honestly am never quite sure where it will come from, and often I am thunderstruck.

Inspiration on my studio wall. Photos by me

I took a photo of this birds nest showing the wear of time outside my studio. I think there is art here somewhere.

But sometimes when I am trying to work out a new technique or direction, I look to other artists. Throughout the history of art, if you look at photos of artists’ studios, you will very often see images of other art on the wall, or laying on a table.  Think of Van Gogh with Japanese prints. Or Degas with the Rembrandt etchings.

So I thought it might be interesting to look at what was open on my studio table as I struggled with this new painting.

From an art magazine, and an architectural page.

Joan Mitchell is a constant companion in my studio. The freedom of movement in her strokes has always inspired me.

One of my favorite artists, for his layering and interesting use of color, is Peter Doig. Sometimes I'll take color inspiration from another painting or source, but this was just a happy accident.

This particular painting started in a totally different direction and although I thought I knew where I wanted to go with it, it just wasn’t working.  So I kept layering and changing and at times I thought it was trash.  But somehow it morphed into something I loved, and now I have a whole series in my head to work on.

This started in a very different way.

This is fairly normal for me. The rich color underneath is hidden in layers of strokes.

A lot of the original color disappeared under new layers.

And then some of it went back in. This can go on for days. With much angst.

And then finally a breakthrough. Somehow I got so frustrated with the earlier direction, I painted these large bands of blue over it. Then I started adding strokes over it. The rhythm of the woods came in clear view.

Again, when I look around my studio as I get stuck, there are things that just jog something in my brain and I go back to work.

On my wall, a favorite David Hockney tear sheet from an art magazine.

A couple of postcards on my wall, a reminder of my visit to the Cy Twombly exhibit at the Tate Modern in London.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But somehow, it all goes in and gets mixed around, and in the end I hope it is something that is very personal and truly original.

Hail Britannia!

19 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in England, Sailing, The Royal Family, Uncategorized

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In the paper the other day, I read that education minister Michael Gove was one of several individuals who had the brilliant idea to present Queen Elizabeth II with a new yacht for her Diamond Jubilee. It would finally replace the Royal Yacht Britannia, which was decommissioned in 1997.  Unfortunately, the prime minister, David Cameron, thought the hefty 60 to 80 million pound ($92 – $123 million) price tag might stretch the taxpayers generosity in these hard financial times, but welcomed supporting private efforts to raise the money for the project.

The Queen had a spectacular yacht before it was retired, The Britannia.

The Royal Yacht Britannia in Portsmouth. Photo by Steve Daniels, Geograph project

It has a rich history, and occasionally was seen out around the seas of the UK and abroad after it was first launched in 1953 by HM Queen Elizabeth II.

1994, The Royal Yacht on the Thames, photo by Creative Commons, Christine Matthews

My Beloved Brit remembers seeing it occasionally when out yacht racing, especially in the summer at the Cowes Week Regatta on the southern shore of England. He always recalls it with great fondness. It is a beautiful yacht.

Final entry in to Portsmouth, 11-22-97, escorted by HMS Southampton. British Crown copyright/MOD

The last time we were in Edinburgh, Scotland, we were able to board and tour the yacht, now a tourist attraction on the Leith dock right outside the city.  It was incredible.  It is absolutely one of the most beautiful yachts I have ever been on, and believe it or not, with all its attention to detail and exquisite furnishings, it seemed rather cozy.

The Royal Family aboard the yacht, The British Monarchy, all rights reserved

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still, I could imagine the  honeymooners, Charles and Diana (see video), on her decks in 1981 after flying to Gibraltar to meet Britannia.  Or Princess Margaret lighting a long cigarette as she entertained some lucky famous guests. You could just picture the Queen settling in to her private suite, or contemplating the future of her country while strolling its decks.

Doesn't this look cozy.

MBB, of course, loved the technical side of the great yacht, and we were able to go through the crews’ quarters, the control rooms, the bridge and even see the massive engines. (click here to see video on layout of Britannia)

The controls of Britannia, photo by Alan Pennington, creative commons.

Education minister Gove recently wrote about his wish to see a new royal yacht commissioned for the Diamond Jubilee:

“In spite, and perhaps because of the austere times, the celebration should go beyond those of previous jubilees and mark the greater achievement that the diamond anniversary represents.”

He said that the queen’s “highly significant contribution” to Britain and the Commonwealth, which groups 54 nations, mostly former British colonies, should be recognised with something more permanent than street parties.

Sounds like a very interesting discussion, indeed. I know MBB would welcome seeing a new Royal Yacht on the high seas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A room with a pub…and a view

09 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Cornwall, Cornwall, England, Travel, Uncategorized

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This time of year I get notices from some of our favorite haunts in England advertising their winter specials.  It doesn’t tempt My Beloved Brit at all to go over in winter, but I always imagine tea & scones by a cozy fire and walks on quiet lanes dusted with snow. That of course is after several tours of the art galleries of London.

Winter lane St. Tinney Farm, photo by Phil Windley, wikipedia commons

St. Austel Brewery just sent us their newsletter with a gorgeous array of January deals in 15 of their wonderful small Hotels or Inns, most of which are in Cornwall.  We have stayed at their historic Charlestown inn, The Rashleigh Arms, which is within sight of the Tall Ships of Charlestown Harbour.

The Rashleigh Arms in Historic Charlestown, Cornwall. Photo from their website

Looking down the list of specials, I can find many that I would love to try. At the Rashleigh, we found the rooms were cozy, and the large English breakfast in the pub downstairs unbeatable. At the very least, it’s wonderful to sit by my own fire and dream…

From the 14th century The Masons Arms website, another St. Austell Brewery property. Doesn't this look cozy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click here for the St. Austell Brewery January deals newsletter, and dream a little dream of your own.

New Forest, new art

06 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in Art, England, paintings, The New Forest, Travel, Uncategorized

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Planning new trips always makes me review past trips to make sure we don’t forget old favorite destinations.  One of my most memorable adventures was a very special trip to England with My Beloved Brit.

After weeks of meeting MBB’s friends and family on our first trip across the pond together, I was thrilled but also a bit overwhelmed.  Having experienced the same in my home country, MBB was understanding and decided what we needed was a very special few nights in a quiet part of England. He’d fix it. His brilliant idea was a visit for the two of us to The New Forest, the perfect retreat.

photo from New Forest Official Visitors Site

This is a very special area south of London in south-west Hampshire that is filled with quaint, quintessential English villages, expansive views of heather and woods, and wild ponies and donkeys which often come over to say hello.

New Forest Ponies (wikimedia commons)

We stayed in a unique place, called Master Builder’s, located next to the historic English village called Buckler’s Hard on the Beaulieu River. This tiny row of 18th century Georgian cottages brings you back through time. The Inn itself was almost modern by comparison.

Buckler's Hard (image copyright is owned by Peter Barr, Wikimedia Creative Commons)

After a wonderful night in this enchanting place, we got up early for breakfast (only spoiled by the smell of kippers being enjoyed by a guest at the next table) and went out to explore the forest surrounds and villages.

Nearby is the town of Beaulieu which is famous for its motor car museum ( which will feature a James Bond Car exhibit in 2012 that I am told we will most likely see).  But it also has a charming village center, and we went by the inn for lunch.  On our way out we noticed an unexpected guest.  Reservation for one?

My photo

I fell in love with New Forest. We return whenever we can, and on one of these visits I took a long walkabout and found such diverse scenes. I followed a path along the river and found some areas pruned to perfection…

my photo of the most perfect entry

and some areas where nature had taken over and gone wild.

my photo of apples along the path that follows the River

I loved both, but wanted an image that expressed the wild, untamed nature of the area. It was so unique, but I didn’t quite find it on my walk.

Then, driving across the vast landscape after dinner with My Beloved Brit I saw it.  But there was absolutely no place to park.  He let me off at the side of the road and drove about a quarter mile to a parking area and waited patiently while I explored every angle of a lone tree against a moody sky.  It was dramatic. You could see the wind in it’s branches.

I signaled MBB to turn around and come back to pick me up.  He is always so patient with these art adventures.  I love him for that.

And I loved this little painting.  It was everything I remembered of that day.

The New Forest. private collection

I always like to share my paintings.  If you want to see more visit my website at www.patwhitehead.com.

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Out with the old. Thinking about the new.

02 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in England, London, Sailing, Travel, Uncategorized

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We lost no time after the start of the New Year taking down the holiday decorations and getting on with things.  I love the holidays, but i think I like it even more when they are over.  It’s refreshing to start anew and think of what you want to do with all that fresh time laying out before you.

The "porch tree" came down. The holidays are over.

This always seems to be the time of year we start planning our travels, and top on the list this year is England.  The phone has already started ringing with calls from My Beloved Brit’s mates (admittedly most often from a pub where a group of them are in deep discussion on the year’s sailing strategy) trying to talk him in to joining this boat or that on a very important race coming up in 2012.  Of course he’d love to do them all, but he also has family and my art sojourns to consider. If all problems were this easy!

MBB in a past season planning the day's race over coffee with his mates on the Burnham River. photo by me

So we start making our lists of all the things we want to see and do.  This is a part of my life that I am so thankful for every day. I love to travel, and England is special.

Always on the list, Ashford in the Water. photo by me.

So we have the joy of spending hours over the next few months pouring over maps and brochures and internet sites, deciding on the itinerary.

Let the planning begin. photo by me

We want to see bits of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration, and old favorite sites as well as new discoveries. He wants to sail.  I want to tromp through the woods on the bank of a tiny lake. He wants fish ‘n’ chips and cornish ice cream.  I want to see the exhibit of the year at the Tate Modern and have lunch at Fortnum & Mason. Oh, the joy of planning a holiday in England!

Ice skating on both sides of the pond

27 Tuesday Dec 2011

Posted by in England, London, Travel, Uncategorized

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As winter arrives, outdoor ice skating rinks appear in London. They open from mid-November to mid-January and many have special events happening throughout the season.

The skating ring at Somerset House. photo by Michael Pead, creative commons

I love the idea that these skating spots pop up throughout the city for the season.  There’s advantages to being in a very cold country. The rink at Somerset House is open until January 22nd this year. They even have a New Year’s Eve party. The one at the Natural History Museum is only open until January 8th.

One of the ice rinks set up over the Christmas period was this one at the Natural History Museum, London. photo by Christine Matthews, creative commons

They materialize like magic, some in small corners, some in a space much more grand. The space at the Royal Naval College looks spectacular from past years.

The Xmas Ice Skating Rink, Old Royal Naval College The Ice Skating Rink at the Old Royal Naval College has become a regular feature in Greenwich during December/January. Canary Wharf and the other office blocks on the Isle of Dogs, just across the River Thames, can be seen in the background. photo by Katherine Tyrrell, Creative Commons

I grew up on Long Island in New York, and loved escaping down to the local pond to go ice skating when I was a child. It was always a fight for space on the slick surface between the boys trying to play hockey and the girls practicing their twirls.

But when I got older, I had the joy of having an apartment for a decade in New York City.  It was a wonderful time of year when my sister and I could head over to Central Park and see the rink being readied for skaters.

Heading over to skate in Central Park years ago in New York City. Photo by my sister and skating companion.

It was a small circle to go round and round in, but fun none the less. And there was hot chocolate to be had at the end of the day.

The Central Park skating rink in New York City getting ready for visitors

We couldn’t wait to get out there.  It was definitely a city rite of winter.

My sister skating in Central Park. Photo by me.

For pure crowd watching nothing was better than the ice skaters at Rockefeller Plaza.  I never skated there, but spent hours standing at the elevated railing watching the show below. There was such a variety of people swirling around on the ice.

There was one particular man that did almost a slow motion dance on the ice.  For years when I returned he would be there, doing his dreamy, Tai Chi like moves on the ice.  I wondered if he ever left.  Often my sister and I would stand above the rink and watch him do his moves.  And then one day we returned and he was not there, and we never saw him again.  We often comment on him when we see the rink, and wonder where our mystery skater has disappeared to.

Ice Rink at Rockefeller Center, photo by Andy C, creative commons

A new favorite rink is the one at Bryant Park behind the NYC Public Library. This one is open well into February this year. One more place to pass the winter season with swirls and twirls, and maybe a few bruises. But the hot chocolate is always available.

Skating at Bryant Park NYC. photo by Beyond my Ken, creative commons

I love that both cities, London and New York, have their own traditions of winter skating that are so similar and yet distinct to the individual city.  I’m not sure which is my favorite spot, but I think it must be Central Park because of the memories.

 

A Cracker Tradition

25 Sunday Dec 2011

Posted by in England, Uncategorized

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I started setting the table yesterday with the help of my sister.  I love all the traditions of the Christmas dinner…turkey and stuffing and pumpkin pie. And decorating the table is part of the fun.

my Christmas table

The Christmas Cracker is a tradition that I was introduced to by My Beloved Brit, and I must say when I first heard of them it was difficult to find the pretty little fabrications that give a pop and are filled with funny jokes, small toys and charms and a colored paper hat or crown. I do think they are lovely sitting on the Christmas dinner table, but the paper hats may be a bit much.

 

The cracker is supposed to be pulled before Christmas dinner by two people, similar to a wishbone and one tradition has it that the person who gets the larger piece gets to keep the contents. We like to give each their own cracker and everyone at the table takes turns reading their joke or fortune.

Crackers were invented by Thomas J. Smith of London in 1847, a purveyor of bon-bon sweets that he sold wrapped in a twist of paper. Eventually, Smith started to come up with new ideas to increase sales. Initially he started including mottos in with the sweets, but soon he was inspired to put the “crackle” idea in to the treat when he heard the sound from the fire. The size had to be increased to include the snapper mechanism, and eventually the sweet was dropped and the little surprises were added when his son took over the development of the product. You can actually order Tom Smith’s Christmas Crackers in the US now.

Tom Smith's Crackers

The idea of the paper crown may have come from Twelfth Night celebrations, where a king or queen was appointed to oversee the celebration.

I read recently that even the royal family has crackers at their Christmas celebration and although I don’t know this to be absolutely true, the article said the only one at the table who didn’t wear the paper crown was the Queen herself.

Merry Christmas to all.  Let the feasting begin!

Location, location, location — “The Holiday”

22 Thursday Dec 2011

Posted by in England, movies, Travel, Uncategorized

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The Holiday. I love this movie and especially this time of year.  It highlights my two favorite fantasy locations–England and LA.  England, because, well, you know, it’s just so British, and LA because it is so entirely different and exotic in its own way from the east coast location where I grew up and lived most of my life.

‘The Holiday’ brings together the star talents of Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black in a charming romantic comedy with an international twist. The plot revolves around two women who swap houses for Christmas with the idea of escaping from their current lives and romantic problems.

Much of the English side of the story was shot in the village of Shere in Surrey, a quintessentially English village with antiques shops, tea rooms and several excellent pubs. The other Surrey town of Godalming also stars and is well worth a visit for its fine architecture, independent shops and peaceful riverside setting.

Wikipedia image

 

Church Street

Church Street, image from Godalming Guide

There is a wonderful blog called “Hooked on Houses” that goes into lots of detail about the two houses featured in The Holiday and even has a poll that talks about which of the two her readers prefer.  Thank you Julie.  It is still a fun read.

Here is Iris’s house in England (which was actually just a shell of the cottage built near an empty field for the movie set)

 

building the cottage 1

building the cottage 4

And here is Amanda’s house set in the movie at a Brentwood section of LA.

(actually the exterior shots of the house showing the gated property were filmed in front of Southern California architect Wallace Neff‘s Mission Revival house in San Marino, a suburb adjacent to Pasadena. Neff had built the house for his family in 1928.) Other Los Angeles locations included Arthur’s house in Brentwood and Miles’ house, designed by Richard Neutra, which is situated on Neutra Place in L.A.’s Silver Lake area, near downtown. The interiors were all shot at Sony Studio. But I digress.

The thing I find so interesting about this movie is how Iris’s house and location reflect such unique characteristics of the English way of life…the narrow roads (which still can scare the wits out of an American driver), the houses that simply don’t have enough heat when it is always cold and damp (not really), the interiors of many of the houses with every square inch covered with some kind of pattern or books or collectables. Then there is the local village and pub that is the center of life. We have yet to visit a village where we did not seek out the best pub to get a read on the true character of the area.

The movie is a fun time, if a bit light on the true cultural differences, but it does make the point beautifully that as different as we are, we are really just the same. I could have told you that, but not nearly with such charm.