Tag Archives: Brison’s Veor

Cornish sketchbook…

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Boat Cove, Pendeen. Mixed media sketch. © Mari French 2018

A few sketches and photographs from a week in St Ives, Cornwall, back in early May. Although a holiday, I also wanted to get some sketching done of the distinctive rugged coast around Penwith and St Ives. Living in Norfolk we are some 7 hours drive (at least) away, so I don’t get down there as often as I’d like.

I started a series of Cornish cove paintings last year on a residency at Brisons Veor, Cape Cornwall, and delivered two subsequent works from the series to the Harbour Gallery Portscatho (see previous post), during my week at St Ives (I found out today that I sold one of them, nice surprise!).

Boat Cove, Pendeen, Cornwall. © Mari French 2018

So, to continue working on the series, I needed to remind myself of that light, those colours and the sheer exhilaration of feeling the waves boom against the rocks below me in the small rocky coves that punctuate this coast.

When the tide is out there is an astonishing variety of geology: rocks, stones, boulders, pebbles, and contortions, layers and strata as well, of course, the pale pale sand reflecting the light. With the tide returning there’s the blinding white foam surging around the rocks at the head of the muscular turquoise waves, filling the coves.

Spring sea, below The Island, St Ives. Mixed media sketch. © Mari French 2018

I usually sketch in watercolours combined with other media, but here I found the rich colours of the wet watercolour paint soon dried to a much duller finish than I wanted. I tried using gouache instead. I’d only brought a limited range with me, so it was a bit of a challenge mixing the colours I wanted, but I liked the creamy blendable nature of the paint and the richness of the results. They team very well with paint pens and other media. I needed a larger palette and a Tupperware box lid fit the bill nicely.

Cornwall sketchbook. © Mari French 2018

This is all a fantastic contrast for an artist who spends much of her other time exploring and painting the salt marsh and reed beds of North Norfolk’s coastline. A contrast which I hope will result in many paintings in the new series.

Boat Cove, Pendeen. Mixed media sketch. © Mari French 2018

sea garden…

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Following on from my earlier posts on Priest Cove at Cape Cornwall and the bathing pool cut into in the rocks, these are a few pieces of mixed media on paper I created recently, but this time thinking about the underwater space of the pool.

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KODAK Digital Still Camera

I’d spent several hours on my arts residency at Brisons Veor back in spring this year, perched on the manmade edge of this semi-natural pool peering into what was really a large rock pool. A beguiling sea garden of seaweeds, anemones, small fish and pebbles, under a calm rippled glinting surface (at least when the tide was out). The variety of life in this underwater landscape was captivating; the colours, shapes and textures so inspiring for an abstract artist!

ink and water…

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This week I returned to the inspiration of the bathing pool at Priest Cove, Cape Cornwall (see the post on my Brison Veor residency from earlier this year).

To start with I’ve been working on small mixed-media pieces on paper including the two shown here, but this time with a wet-in-wet acrylic ink base. I wanted to evoke the feeling and sound of the tide approaching over the rocks and of the crashing waves inundating the pool, which is set into the rocks.

Today however, I decided to be braver and go bigger. I thought you might like to see a short video of me starting the first large piece.