'En plein air' Cromer beach paintings

 

My studio on the beach in Cromer a photo taken by Sally Hart who was on holiday and practising her photography. 

      

This painting done in ink and watercolour has Cromer church in the background. These paintings posted here are A4 but I paint up to A1 in size. I also paint other beaches on the coast line but mostly Cromer.

 

This one has a piece of Cromer pier, Davies lifeboat and the town. You can buy my paintings at Gallery Norfolk which is opposite Merchants place, just up the slope from the Rocket House cafe.

 

 

This painting has the whole pier, the lifeboat and Cromer.

 

This one has a some pier and no boats. 

Poppyland band

 A new band has been formed and has new songs about Poppyland
My Cousin Bertie Anderson Haggert has written lots of songs about the North Norfolk coast and they will be played this Sunday 20th September at Sidestrand church at 7.30pm. 7 pound on the door and there will be refreshments. The funds from the door will go towards the Sidestrand archive group. I heard the songs being played for the first time last week at the Vernum arms folk night and they were fantastic definitely Christmas number one chart topper.

Sidestrand church was moved in from falling into the sea and because of the coastal erosion it wont be long before it might fall in again. Its a cute little church and some of my family are buried there. I have rung the bells once for a wedding in the early 1980's with my brother when we were over from Ireland.

Gallery Norfolk Summer show 2015

Gallery Norfolk has a Summer show of wonderful paintings by local artists.
My work has featured in the show this year with my beach paintings. Mostly of Cromer beach but also Overstrand and Sidestrand.
Whenever I get a chance to go to the coast I go by train with my bike. I get off at Gunton station and ride through the countryside and stay in my cousins house near my family. Every sunny day I ride into Cromer and set up on the beach to paint. This year my folks bought me this trailer so I can take a chair and stretched paper on board and all my paints down to the beach. Its really a children carrier but it does the job of taking all my work.

Last year I started beach painting as a break from city life. I done a dozen pictures and then took them up the slope by the Rocket House cafe and the life boat to Gallery Norfolk which is just on the left on the main street.

Catherine who works at the Gallery was delighted with the art and took it out the back to show Polly who owns the gallery and also makes picture frames. Polly said she would trial them to see how they go.

Polly frames some of the work for the show and then the others are mounted and unmounted sitting in racks.

The work has done very well and selling better then any of us expected.

'En plein air' beach painting can be very windy. But worth being outside catching the rays and fresh air. I look forward to the next sunny day to wheelie on down to the beach on my bike. The art works are all for sale and prised very reasonably for people to take home an original work from there holidays as a cheery memory to help them through the long winter nights.

Ships Wheel Art

This year for the Cromer and Sheringham Crab and Lobster festival the theme for artists was a Ships Wheel. Shops in Cromer and Sheringham sponsored wheels that artists painted and they put them in the window for the whole summer. Gallery Norfolk asked me to paint a wheel. I imaged being at sea and the seagulls that followed the boat reflected on my Ships wheel on a sunny day.
I painted the gulls on the beach in Cromer on paper then painted them  on the wheel. Exhibiting the seagulls along side the wheel in the window. On the 30th August all the wheels came together at the front of Cromer pier and were auctioned off for charity. They made a record amount of cash this year. All the charities will be local ones that need help.

Ukulele Caberet London Beach Party sketches

I was invited to draw the Poster for July's Beach Party theme. The actually event fell on a day when I was delivering a commission to London so I went down there and made a day of it. Dropping off sculptures in the morning spending the day at Tate Britain and Modern then eating out in a vegetarian restaurant and then heading over to the Lincoln Lounge in Kings Cross to see the Ukulele cabaret. 

The musicians were great fun off stage and on

I had not intended to sketch everyone, but got carried away with the music

Tricity Vogue organises the events monthly the next one is in September

Erin Hunter singing about child birth

Jungle book songs

The bar owners

The enthusiasts 

Playing the drum box

Background uke

Rapping to the Uke

Eye lashes that you could string a Uke with

The more serious Uke

First timer Uke

Birthday boy

Beard that you could string a uke with

Rocking out on a Uke