Across the River

Across the River

(Acrylic on board, 12x12 in.)

Begun a week or two ago following a subject suggested by Gateshead Art Society and finished yesterday, after a few setbacks. It shows a view across the River yne from just beneath the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge, AKA the Metro Bridge.

 

Condiments at The Quayside

Condiments, The Quayside, Newcastle

(markers and coloured pencils in A5 sketchbook)

Good day out with the Mondaymondaysketchers, but it comes to something when you sit in the upstairs room of a pub with a window view of all the Tyne bridges and end up drawing the condiments set on the table. 

It was a sunny day but the wind was cold and a cold wind on the Tyne is even colder, coming as it often does from the North Sea. I found one or two hardy souls sitting at the tables outside The Quayside (a Tim Widdlespoons pub, so I held my nose and put my conscience on hold), but the upper floor indoors seemed more attractive. Quite a few other Mondaymondaysketchers were there, clustered round a table by a window with a good view of the High Level Bridge and beyond. No room left at that table, so I moved down a couple of  tables, but the view from that window was more restricted, so I resorted to drawing the condiments set on the table. I've been finding such subject matter increasingly interesting and was pleased to find that this one came out well. A few markers and coloured pencils lent a bit of colour.

[Little did I realise this would be the last Mondaymondaysketchers outing for quite some time.]

Sketch Crawl : North East Maritime Trust, South Shields

Pulley (0.8 marker in A4 sketch book)

It was a lovely sunny day yesterday, perfect for the Sketch Crawlers to hide away in a boat shed and do some drawing. We met up in The Word, the new library in South Shields, and had coffee before heading down to the River Tyne. From the ferry landing it's an easy walk along the river to the North East Maritime Trust boat sheds where Richard had arranged we could do some sketching.

The sheds are at first rather intimidating, I found, with so much stuff cluttering the place - every bit of it a still life subject in its own right - and so much going on as the volunteers go about their restoration work, so I tried to find something to draw on the quay outside the sheds.

I quickly found what I've always known, that drawing boats from a position other than straight on to the side is very difficult: so many curves! My first attempt at a coble being refitted was such a disaster that I welcomed the fact I'd decided to use pencil rather than ink, and rubbed it out.

In the quieter shed next door I found a balcony where I was faced with this pulley (above) and so set about dealing with all those chain links as the river lapped gently on the slipway below.

In the Shed 
(2B mechanical pencil in A4 sketchbook)

I'd more or less given up doing anything more, but wandering inside the main shed again, I saw Bob across the way doing a sketch. I liked the way he was framed by the extractor fan and decided to make a quick pencil drawing of just that, but as the drawing went on, more and more of the clutter began to find its way onto the page.

I spent last night adding some of the details, such as the diamond pattern on the windows and a few shadows.

These two drawings represent two different approaches for me. The first is an example of my usual decision on these Sketch Crawls - to make a finished drawing that stands on its own. The second is a new development for me - a definite attempt to get down an idea for a possible painting by rearranging elements of the subject as I go along. 

Sketch Crawl #10 : Customs House, South Shields

The Steamboat, Mill Dam, South Shields
(various markers in A4 sketchbook)

Brick Pillar, Mill Dam, South Shields
(markers in A4 sketchbook)

We'd been putting off our visit to the Customs House in South Shields until we could count on better weather. How much experience of British weather does that display? To be fair, although the day started a bit grey and damp, the sun was starting to break through as we made our separate ways to the banks of the Tyne yesterday. But the wind! Oh the wind! Blasting in from the North Sea and off the river, the wind made finding shelter a real necessity if you didn't want to freeze.

Mike had made a good start when I got there, by drawing a complicated Victorian building that Richard identified as the old River Police Station. It was, as he obviously enjoyed telling us, the place where corpses were once laid out after being fished out of the Tyne. Fascinating though this might be, the building was nevertheless a busy concoction of  brick and sandstone Neo-Classicism, so I headed of for something more basic.

My first choice was the brick pillar standing opposite the Customs House. I still can't decide if it was built as a chimney or as a brick tower or pillar, perhaps supporting a navigation light. Built of rendered brick it just stands there, uncelebrated, except by pigeons courting on the top.

In the shelter of a brick wall, I was able to stand in comfort and draw the entrance to The Steamboat, "CAMRA Real Ale Pub of 2015". Interrupted only by a young woman who walked past me up and down the hill four or five times glued to her mobile phone, telling the world and her friend about how awful her boyfriend was and what he'd done on Facebook, I got the drawing done in about an hour. And my only regret is that due to seriously mismanaging the dimensions of the front wall, I had to reduce the number of windows from three to two. But as my Mum would have said, a man on a galloping horse would never notice.

3.30 and coffee in the Customs House cafe called. By the time I got there, some were already sitting and Anita was being indecisive. Cake or scone? Or maybe a panini? Or what was that other thing on the menu? 

Eventually we all sat down and after eating and drinking, we passed our work around. As usual it was all fascinating and Kim kindly allowed me to include this photo of everyone holding up sketchbooks. Well, everyone except me, which probably accounts for my glum look. If you look carefully, you can see I'm eyeing up the lonely book at the front of the table (Jenny has mine).

Anita, Mike, Me, Richard, Allan and Jenny, 
with Kim behind the camera.

Next Sketch Crawl : 9 July 2016, 1.00pm at the Ouseburn Farm.

Mud on the Tyne

Pat and I went for a walk up the River Tyne today, on the Gateshead side. It was a lovely sunny day and the tide was just on the turn, the river flowing upstream. There were gulls pecking in the mud and one sat on a tyre and disappeared upstream until it was out of sight. 

We walked as far as Dunston Staithes where I took this picture of the mud (the Staithes are in the background). Apparently the nearness of the moon at the moment is producing very low tides and more mud than usual is being uncovered. I think it's rather beautiful. If you like mud, that is.

River Factory

River Factory (Oil on board, 12 x 12 ins)

The show at Whitley Bay ended on Sunday and I went to collect my pictures today. And there were only three to bring away! This one, River Factory, was sold on Saturday, possibly to an old friend of mine whom I haven't seen for twenty years or more. It shows a factory on one of the bends in the River Tyne, now quite possibly demolished.

Although the show seemed to be doing less well than the similarly situated show in July, by the end it had done about the same level of business. People may have been hesitant about spending in the current climate, but it's clear they recognised a good buy when it came down to it. I think we might try the same format next year if the shop space is still available (and who would expect a sudden demand for large shop spaces in the next 12 months?)

In the South Tyne Valley

In the South Tyne Valley (Oil on canvas, 30 x 30 cm)

The second of this pair of paintings from the South Tyne Valley.

South Tyne Valley Landscape

South Tyne Valley Landscape (Oil on canvas, 30 x 30 cm)

Looking round the studio yesterday, I noticed how much the study of landscape has occupied my time recently. I never thought I'd say that, but I suppose it's due to a shift in perspective and a realisation that over time I've amassed quite a store of reference material not related to towns.

Two Tyne Valleys

Tyne Valley (work in progress)


Tyne Valley 2 (work in progress)

This is always a difficult time of year, I find, when work is slow and much thought is expended on what direction it should take. So if it seems to you that not much is happening here on Boogie Street, you may in a sense be right. But high in my tower I'm thinking, thinking , thinking. And every now and then, I begin a new painting in what, for me has been largely an unexplored area - landscape.

These two are the latest and show a part of the South Tyne Valley near to Bardon Mill. They've been cursorily blocked in and will need a good deal more work to bring them to completion. But I'm relatively pleased with them and I can see how they could lead to ..... something new.

But I'll have to give that some more thought.

The Second Big One

View from the Keep 2 (work in progress)

I know I have to have at least two large paintings for the Red Box show, so this is the second of the 3 x 4 feet canvases. Although I can still easily work on the first one, there'll come a time when only small amounts of work will be possible due to drying issues. By having two on the go, I'll be able to switch from one to the other. This is my preferred way of working anyway.

The red brick building at the right is the Turnbull Building which featured in a recent post. The view here is looking up the Tyne, with the Metro Bridge (as yet only showing as a remnant of the orange imprimatura) in the background. In the immediate foreground is the East Coast mainline, which shows up in the bottom left hand corner of the first Big One.

Old Drawings #29

View of the Tyne with Baltic Flour Mill (charcoal on cartridge paper)

I don't have the dimensions of this drawing, because it belongs to friends of mine. I did it in 1995 (I think) as a preparatory drawing for the painting they'd commissioned:

View of the Tyne - Baltic (Oil on board) (Private Collection)

The colours in this photograph may not be overly accurate - I think it was taken with a camera phone - but it gives a reasonable idea of it. The view is notable for the absence of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge which wasn't installed until 2000 (of course!)