Summer evening

I've just finished a late Christmas present - a painting of a friend's house and garden where we spent a wonderful evening last summer, having a barbecue  and drinking beer on the lawn as the sun went down.
It has been very cold and frosty  over the last few days, we had some great runs up to the CIC hut and also on the west highland way. From both directions the Ben looked magnificent. I took lots of photos but didn't do any outside sketching - it has been too chilly to pause for long!

Yorkshire Coast

This is a watercolour picture I did a few years ago of the Yorkshire coast . It is from a photo I took whilst training for the Hardmoors 110 race. For us it was a long trek from Scotland  to Yorkshire but I grew to love the Cleveland Way (which the race route follows). The coast is very varied and often feels quite remote. There are some beautiful cliff top sections but the route also goes through some very picturesque towns and villages such as Robin Hood's Way and Staithes. On foot on the coastal path one also avoids the traffic and busy roads .

Robin Hood's Bay

Since I did the Hardmoors 110 Jon Steele has added a whole series of races along the Cleveland Way . The first of the year is the Harmoors 30 on New Years Day.

Beeleigh

The weather today is appalling  - heavy  rain and high winds . Yesterday there were a few sunny spells between the heavy showers and we did a run from the Well of Seven Heads  around Loch Oich . It's a good route especially if the weather is bad- enough hills to add interest but mainly on good trails so it is not technically demanding . This time of year the beech trees look amazing and at the highest points there are tremendous views down the Great Glen.
So far no running today instead I've been finishing some watercolour paintings, one a mountain scene , the other of an oak tree overhanging the canal near Beeleigh in Essex. Beeleigh is a magical place an oasis  of calm a refuge from the roads and housing estates that are now sprawling out of Maldon. There is the beautiful house built on the remains of the abbey,the Grange where Landseer once stayed, a scattering of cottages and the tidal river that joins the canal . If one is lucky a sparkle of turquoise will indicate a kingfisher- surely one of the most exquisitely beautiful British birds. Following the canal to Ulting leads to the quaint old church which in medieval times was the site of an important Christian Shrine.Whenever I go to see my parents I run to Beeleigh at the earliest opportunity . It never changes and probably has barely changed since the canal was dug in the 19th century-

Canal near Beeleigh

Mountain sunset

Resipole

Last week we went to Resipole Studios - the art gallery near Acharacle which as always had a amazing collection of pictures. I particularly like the landscapes by Alan Hayman . They are often  coastal or mountain scenes but almost always include beautiful depictions of wildlife sometimes just a single bird sometimes a group of animals. There were also some lovely landscapes by Andrew Stewart and some brilliant figurative oils by the gallery owner Andrew Sinclair. Afterwards we went to Pollock for a short run and a sketch.

Autumn Colours

We've had some amazing weather this week -warm sunny days albeit with some wind. The hills are red with the dying bracken. Bracken is a big nuisance in that  it carpets everything and cuts down on the available grazing but it certainly looks fantastic at this time of year especially in the early morning or evening when the sun is low creating deep shadows. The above picture was painted over a double spread in my moleskine which is unfortunately too long to fit on the scanner hence the picture is cropped to the right. It shows Ben Kiel from the road back from Corran.

The Ben 

Aonach Mor

A couple of recent sketches from the Spean Bridge Road .The hills are rapidly changing colour and the stags are roaring. It is a wonderful time of year.

Autumn is now apon us although the weather has been very good. On Tuesday I went to Muck . I took the train from Fort William (which connects with the ferry from Mallaig) so I was able to sit back and enjoy the scenery. The crossing was calm but cold ,however once on the island the sun came out and it was glorious. Coming back the views of the islands - especially Eigg were stupendous. I did a few quick sketches which unfortunately don't do justice to reality

Coastline from the boat

Eigg

Early evening view from the ferry.

The stable block at Hylands House

Paper Mill Lock from the Tea Room

View looking inland from the sea wall  at Goldhanger (Joyce's Farm )

The General Arms in Little Baddow

After the Birmingham conference I went to see my parents in Essex. Although Essex gets a bad name and it certainly doesn't compare to the West Coast of Scotland, I have a great affection for its more rural parts. I love to go for a country walk with my  Mum and Dad and then visit  an ancient pub for lunch and a pint of ale. One of our favourites is  the Chequers in Goldhanger. A short walk from the village takes one to the sea wall and the marshes which are always beautiful and often very bracing.My parents like birdwatching and there are a profusion of waders and other sea birds to see. The smell of the salt and the mud,the cries of the birds , the ever present wind and the big open sky are very evocative for me.

After our walk which unusually was in warm sunshine, we had lunch in the front bar of the pub which was built in the 16th century. I then ran back to Maldon on the sea wall which is a lovely way to approach the old town. It is only at the end that you have to cross roads and endure the traffic.

On another day we went to Hylands House near Chelmsford which had an open day . There was a lot of information  on World War 1 when the house was used as a hospital. A band played war time tunes and there were people dressed in infantry uniforms. Rather chillingly they had rifles and machine guns that were actually used in the conflict. There was also some rare Suffolk Punch horses, a collection of artist studios and a second hand bookshop. I had a great time in the bookshop finding a book illustrated by Alan Lee, a book about the nature artist C. F. Tunnicliffe and one by Edith Holden similar to her famous ' Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady'.

Now we're back in Scotland and work is full on . I have had no time to sketch apart for one view yesterday whilst I was waiting for the Corran Ferry.

It was a beautiful day and it was a shame to have to rush rather than enjoy the gorgeous views.

Birmingham

Last week I went to a conference  in Birmingham. Large cities in the Midlands are not my normal habitat but in  fact I enjoyed my stay. A revelation was the the canal network. Apparently Birmingham has more canals than Venice. The canals are a secret, hidden world often below street level with wharves bridges and lots of locks ( but a distinct lack of gondolas) .
 Back in Fort William the Neptune's Staircase is famous for being a large number of locks close together, but in Birmingham the rise and number of locks far exceed this. The difference is the canals are much narrower with single lock gates. I found the waterways a fantastic place to sketch . The combination of the reflections in the water , the many bridges( each one unique), and the varied  brick and stone work was immensely appealing. Of course even with a good sprinkling of modern litter  the canals look picturesque now, but in their heyday they would have been grimy and dirty with far worse pollution.

Not much sketching done this week but here's a painting I did for my etsy shop. It's an evening view from the boat returning from the Isle of Eigg with the sun going down behind the island. The island on the right is Rum. Going to Eigg is always an adventure;quite apart from the stunning scenery  there is an abundance of wildlife,once I saw an otter swimming just beyond the jetty, last time I saw minke wales and dolphins.

Rob Piercy Gallery

The day after the Ring of Fire Race we went to Porthmadog to see Rob Piercy's gallery. He paints mainly in watercolour and in my opinion is one of the best landscape watercolourists in Britain. It was a real treat to see so many of his pictures together. He specializes in moody mountain scenes of Snowdonia done with a muted  palette. There were also some mixed media , oils and some pencil drawings.
After that we drove to Llanberis to see the mountains and also to The Royal Victoria Hotel which has a list on the wall of past winners of the Snowdon  Mountain Race , H's name  being among them.
 From there we had the long trek back to Scotland.

Ring of Fire Race

We're just back from the Ring of Fire - a fantastic race over three days around the coast of the Island of Anglesey in North Wales. My chances of finishing seemed very slim as my back was still giving me a lot of trouble. Even another trip to the osteopath on Wednesday didn't make much difference.
 I decided to start anyway and get as far as I could.
 The fun commenced at 1PM on Friday from the Country Park. My back was sore from the first step . Fairly despondent I limped along near the back. H. was soon away and out of sight and I was glad to see her running well. However before long I realised that it hurt just as much to run slowly as at normal speed. I became frustrated at being trapped at the back of a long crocodile of slower runners and started to overtake people when I had the chance. Eventually I caught up with a group of faster runners and was pleased to be able to stay with them .To my surprise they stopped longer than me at checkpoint 2 and I was able get ahead. By now the landscape had become far more dramatic - rolling grassland then steep cliffs down to the sea. I began to wonder how far ahead H could be until I finally spotted her just cresting the next hill. It took some work to catch up but by now I was running fairly well and enjoying myself despite my sore back and lack of fitness. We ran together for the rest of the day and indeed for the rest of the race which is quite unusual for us but a lovely thing to do.
By the time we had covered the increasingly hilly 35.7 miles to Almwych we were both tired and it was pouring with rain. I was incredibly happy to have survived the first day and to have enjoyed rather than just endured the stunning coastal route. In the Leisure Centre the canteen ladies were serving huge plates of lasagne and salad for a mere £4.50. I demolished one and helped H with hers, then had hot shower.The sports hall was soon full of tired runners sorting out their gear and setting up beds . Sleeping arrangements were very variable from  proper fold up beds through camp beds to nothing but the hard floor. My back was really painful, lying down being particularly sore  . At one point I was stuck on my back unable to sit up or turn over until H helped me. Fortunately I was able to get a massage which eased things a little.
Day 2 started with my alarm going off at 4.30. Slightly refreshed after 4 hours sleep we packed up and ate breakfast The race started at 6 AM- we had up to 22 hours to cover the next 65.9 miles of the coastal path. The scenery wasn't quite as stunning being flatter and incorporating more road- probably a good thing given the distance. We started off O.K. but our lack of fitness and the effects of the previous day took their toll , soon we were reduced to a slow jog and walking all the hills. I found the last 10 miles or so very tough- in the dark with some tricky navigation to boot.  All volunteers on the checkpoints were superb; friendly and helpful. For some reason I never quite understood there were some really nice guys  dressed in lurid skin tight lycra body suits (maybe I was hallucinating- I was certainly tired enough  )at the check points, anyway they cheered us up no end and couldn't do enough to help holding things and filling water bottles.
 At the end we received a rapturous welcome in Aberffraw  and were plied with pasta and hot drinks. The second nights accommodation was more basic- there was no showers and less room but also less runners as some had dropped out. After a few hours rest we rose bleary eyed to pack and get ready for the 6 AM start. The race organisers must have been even more sleep deprived but were everywhere making cups of tea and being incredibly cheery.
 I was amazed to find I could still run after a fashion. At the first checkpoint of the day at Rhosneigr we were offered sausage or bacon baps which really touched the spot. Once we got back onto Holy Island and towards Trearddur Bay the scenery became spectacular, cliffs, golden beaches and sea stacks. The sun came out and it was a gorgeous day. Ever so slowly we ticked off the miles and Holyhead mountain came closer. Eventually we were on the final descent to the finish in Holyhead Country Park. We were both ecstatic to get there. At 135 miles it is the longest race we've done albeit over 3 days. It was a superb event and very well organised ,definitely one to do again. I did take my sketch book but I must confess to have been too tired after each day to draw.

We had variable weather this week - some heavy rain but also some sunshine . I did get the opportunity to do a couple of quick sketches .
 I was  excited to receive James Gurney's new watercolour DVD yesterday . As one would expect it is excellent with lots of tips and demonstrations of plein air watercolours . I am very envious of his amazing skills . He can create stunning paintings on the hoof even of some pretty humdrum subjects - everything from raindrops hitting a pavement puddle to industrial subjects to a study of a long dead tortoise.
I'm also eagerly awaiting Jim Vadeboncoeur's latest and possibly his last edition of Images S. He did a kickstarter campaign to fund the production of what promises to be a really deluxe edition. I have a few of the other editions and they are brim full of superbly reproduced illustration art .

The North face of the Ben with cloud gathering on the summit.

View from the supermarket car park .

Quick sketch on the way back from Kinlochleven.

New print of Lochnagar for my etsy shop

I was sorting out my paintings when I came across this watercolour of Lochnagar. It shows the dramatic ridge on the main route up Lochnagar. It is a stunning view at any time of year but especially so under a cloak of snow. I got a couple of prints made which I hope to sell from my etsy shop

This week I have had two good runs from Bridge of Orchy to Fort William.

Very quick sketches of deer at Kingshouse

. It is easy to jump on the train down the road from our house and I can be in Bridge of Orchy shortly after 9 AM . It's cheap too with a railcard. Then you have a wonderful 35 mile run along the West Highland Way.
 On Thursday the weather was warm and mostly dry .As I jogged along in the sunshine there was a gorgeous smell of honey coming from the heather which is now in full bloom. The grasses are flowering as well giving the moor an orange tinge together with the myriad of greens and the purple of the heather. It was the first long run that I've done for weeks due to my bad back , so I was extremely pleased to be pain free and enjoyed the day immensely.
At Kingshouse I stopped to sketch the red deer that mooch around the hotel in the hope of a tourist's sandwich. Unfortunately two little boys appeared and chased the deer away!
 In the Lairig Mor I bumped in to a  couple who asked whether the path led to the Lower Falls car park . I had to tell them that they were in the wrong glen and that their car was on the other side of the Mamore mountains. They decided to walk to Kinlochleven and to try to get a bus back to Fort William.
Yesterday H and I did the same run but the weather was very different- relentless driving rain the whole day long. We stopped off at the Glencoe ski centre for a coffee and a bacon roll ; it was that kind of day.

Pen  portraits of passengers on the train

King

I've recently discovered the website Illustration Friday. Every week a new topic is posted and people invited to submit pictures on it . This week the subject is 'king' . Above is a drawing that I'm hoping to post. it started off as a pencil drawing but I added charcoal for the darkest areas and some colour with  Derwent graphitint pencils.

Wedding in Norfolk

Man on the train.

I haven't blogged for a while due to being busy at work then away to a wedding in Norfolk .We took the train down south which always offers ample opportunity for sketching people.

Sketch done during the ceremony at the Assembly Rooms

On Sunday we visited the house of H's sister which is a wonderful 16th century manor House. We had a barbecue in the garden and sat drinking beer in the sun.

The house now has a brick skin which somewhat detracts from the other more ancient features.

Sketch of a church with an unusual round tower a type found only in Norfolk and Suffolk

A rough copy of a  Waterhouse painting I made as a Birthday card for my wife's niece. I love Waterhouse and the earlier proper Pre Raphaelites -not just for the quality of their art but their adherence to a  then revolutionary set of values; painting en plein air what they saw in nature. Their paintings were the opposite of sketches often taking months to complete .

River Don

Braeriach

Two prints I've put in my etsy shop . Both painted some years ago . The first is an Autumn view of the Don at Lord's Throat, the  second the cliffs of the Braeriach at sunset.

Went to Resipole to get a picture framed at the gallery on Sunday. There are some outstanding works of art there -lots of amazing mountain pictures as well as figurative art and some illustration including a few by Cliff Wright who designed the covers of the Harry Potter books.The gallery is well worth a visit  and is of course set in gorgeous countryside. I did this quick sketch of Ben Keil whilst waiting for the ferry.

Some sketches from this week.
There have been some gloriously hot days but also quite a lot of rain. I've been lucky enough to get out and about to Mallaig and  Ardgour and Spean Bridge. Everywhere I look the are views crying out to be painted . If only I had more time and didn't have to go to work!

Icelandic Horse

It was wet yesterday and my back was sore again so I took the opportunity to paint a friend's Icelandic horse from a photo . The hill at the back is accurate but I missed out some ugly buildings in the foreground.
I don't often paint animals because my favourite subject matter is mountains, also it is more difficult to get a realistic looking picture unless the animal is just right. However I really enjoyed doing this one . I started wet in wet then added more detail as the paper dried. I did wonder about putting another horse in the background but decided not to.

New picture for my etsy shop . This is based on  the the view from the main Inverness road on a sunny afternoon and is typical of the beautiful weather we have been having recently.

The day after my failure on the Great Glen ultra ( which incidentally was a great success as a race and will I'm certain become a classic event to rival the West Highland Way race) we had a lazy time driving around Ardnamurchan. The weather was beautiful again and we did a short walk from castle Tioram near Acharacle. The castle is sadly a ruin but is built on a tidal island in a beautiful bay in Loch Moidart. It really is the most picturesque setting imaginable.

Quick sketch of Castle Tioram on the island of Eilean Tioram

Sketch whilst walking along the coast

The path by the loch near castle Tioram

Last weekend I had  my first ever DNF ( did not finish) My back had been very sore all week but I'd hoped a trip to the osteopath would fix it. At 1 AM standing on the start line of the Great Glen ultra I tried jogging on the spot - it hurt a lot . I started the race hoping the pain would ease of but after 1 mile I was really struggling . I phone H asking her to pick me up from Gairlochy. However when I got there I felt slightly better so carried on. I  enjoyed the next section to Clunes,it was a beautiful mild night ideal for running.However I was holding myself awkwardly and soon had a sore groin and knee as well. By 20 miles I was down to a survival shuffle. It was a bit ridiculous- I can normally run 20 miles( commuting to and from Fort William) and do a full days work as well. I knew that there was no way I could get to Inverness which was 52 miles away.

Great Glen Way at Fort Augustus

 Just at that point H drove up on her way to man a water station near Drumnadrochit. That decided it ;I jumped in the car and spent a pleasant day giving out water and coke to other runners.

Great Glen Way 4 miles before Drumnadrochit