Happy Saturday!
I hope your week has been joyful and you have seen magic in the mundane. I’ve had a jam packed week, with a super special solo day trip to Devon on Saturday (completely mad, went there and back by train in one day), followed by a family trip to Filey. We’re just back and I’ve only JUST managed to draw my visual journals before sunset. I’ve loved gathering my thoughts and keeping a little trace of these precious moments.
A trip to Devon and back
On Saturday, I took the train down to Devon to visit Emily Powell in her studio on Dartmoor. I took my book on Van Gogh and planned/sketched/brainstormed/journaled a lot. She was holding a Feel Good Floral Workshop which was delightful (bright, cozy with lots of tea and cake) and I got to chat with her and her studio manager Katherine about painting on canvas. Both of them were very generous with their time and I left with a lot to think about. Emily is now on Substack and her first post on her recent trip to Glebe House is exquisite. I got back home by 11:20pm and couldn’t sleep for wonder and excitement.
Family break in Filey, Yorkshire
On Monday, as a family we drove to Filey for a few days away. This is a beautiful coastal town with lots for us all to do and enjoy! I took my new plein air easel, lots of paints and pastels and as many canvases I could pack in our car. The weather was completely perfect.
Filey is such a dramatic and interesting place, a coastal town packed with nostalgia. Coastal erosion is a reality along this Yorkshire coastline (I first learnt about it when I was homeschooling during the pandemic) and is in fact a real threat (read more here). The waves keep crashing in, right up to the cliffs and town and the sea is so powerful that over time people have lost their homes and investments! Even since we were last there a few years back, we’ve noticed physical changes to the landscape. I find it so striking on the one hand to see old house bricks on the sand and such vivid (and sad) traces of the past, yet on the other hand, to see a community in the town itself which continues to thrive, persevering with dedication. We loved its delis, gelato parlours, sweetie shops, charity shops, fish&chips take-aways, the coffee&doughnut shacks. Everyone was super friendly! The town has hope written all over it. And the view from the cliffs was splendid. That’s where I settled to get my plein air easel out and paint.
Charlotte Brontë visited Filey on several occasions and once wrote to her father:
"The Sea is very grand. Yesterday it was a somewhat unusually high tide - and I stood about an hour on the cliffs yesterday afternoon - watching the tumbling in of great tawny turbid waves - that make the whole shore white with foam and filled the air with a sound hollower and deeper than thunder.”
I couldn’t agree more. In fact, this trip has inspired me listen to Jane Eyre on Audible while I paint from my sketchbook notes in the studio later this month. I’ve heard Charlotte’s final novel Villette was very much inspired by the sea. Have any of you read it? Would you recommend it?
Anyway, I had a ball painting on canvas and Mike had fun with the kids during that time.
Highlights of the Week
coconut and white choc ice cream
fish&chips overlooking the sea
finding a plate and a cup for the still life challenge in a charity shop
taking photos of the boys with the incredible light in Filey
seeing ducks and geese up close while on a pedalo with the boys
sketching the sand dunes and cliffs while the boys were building sand castles
feeling a real sense of accomplishment from having painted plein air with all my kit which I’d planned for a while - it worked and it was super fun!!
heading back to the studio knowing I have so much to work with, sketches, materials, memories, some canvas work nearly finished. The colours are all so vivid. I can’t wait to work more on this.
enjoying homemade soup which we brought with us (one was roasted carrot soup, the other was mushroom, both sublime)
the general amazing weather
hanging out with friends on the beach
painting and chatting with Emily Powell and Katherine Moore in Devon on Saturday
the train journey there and back (I love trains) on Saturday
Don’t Forget…
The Time Foragers’ Club is meeting this coming Monday (free but full/sold out) and Tuesday (paid) we’ll be looking at still life, as together we’ll be taking part in a challenge. Read more in this introductory post on how you can take part too!
The April issue of the club gazette is out, read it here (free). There’s lots of YouTube videos and links to check out!
Hope you have a great weekend! Talk soon xx
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