Hello everyone. Do you remember me? I’m that watercolour artist that used to post here occasionally! Seriously I must apologise for my long absence due to illness, COVID restrictions, and a new hobby getting in the way of any painting. I’m hopefully sorted on the health front, so here’s my first offering. It’s called ‘Roughtor – Bodmin Moor’ a place close to my home that is as beautiful as it is desolate. I hope you like it. I promise I will be back with more soon. Till then…
Well… I was all set to take part in a load of exhibitions this year, that would have taken up a lot of my time. I had Polperro which usually runs all through the year, two exhibitions at the Castle, Bude, two exhibitions in Padstow, two exhibitions at Rock and one at Tintagel. At the moment they are all on hold due to Coronavirus.
Instead I find myself spending a lot of time in my studio. I have been working with Colin Pethick online and this painting is the result of one of his workshops. I have also updated the galleries with all the work I have completed this year so far. Please look at the seascapes page for these paintings.
I seem to be obsessed with painting the sea at the moment. Maybe it’s because of the enforced lockdown and my mind needs the visual stimulus of the sea. Sorry it’s been a while since I updated my blog, but I will try to keep up to date now.
Until next time.
Keep safe and happy painting.
Pete
The Last Remains Of The Day – Oil on Canvas. 18″ x 24″
The Restless Sea – Watercolour on Arches rough paper. 140lb. 1/2 imperial. SOLD
The Restless Sea – Reprise – Watercolour on Arches rough paper. 140lb. 1/2 imperial
Well, I’ve been working on this picture on and off for about a month. It’s in acrylic and I’ve titled it ‘Don’t Look Now…’ because it reminded me of the film starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. In the film, set in Venice, he’s haunted by a figure in red that stirs memories of his recently deceased Daughter who owned and wore a red duffel coat. He pursues this figure through the back streets of Venice. Not a good idea! I won’t say any more in case you’ve not seen the film. It’s based on a short story by Daphne Du Maurier.
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year as I probably won’t get another blog out before then.
This is Showery Tor a watercolour on Two Rivers NOT (Cold Pressed) paper. 300lb. 1/2 imperial. Two Rivers is an absolutely beautiful paper with a random texture, which is perfect for this type of subject. It’s hand made at a mill in Somerset which is a totally hydro powered water mill.
On a very windy day a couple of weeks ago I hiked up to Showery Tor, which is about 1.5 miles from my house. It is typical moorland scenery there. It can be bleak, but also very beautiful. The Tor in the background is Roughtor, which is the second highest point in Cornwall. I took loads of photos for reference and this is the painting resulting from it. I’ve made a full video series of the painting for my YouTube channel PeteBathoArt which is now live and can be viewed from the links on my Video Tutorials page.
Happy painting
Pete
Showery Tor. Watercolour on Two Rivers CP paper. 300lb. 1/2 Imperial
I’ve used a slightly different format for my latest painting. This a scene of Rock, which faces Padstow across the Camel estuary. It is painted as a panoramic view. I split the full sheet of paper the opposite way to what I normally do. This gives me the letterbox format which suits a wide angle view such as this. For those of you who are interested I filmed the painting process for my YouTube channel
Happy painting
Pete
Rock Panoramic View. Watercolour on Arches rough. 140lb. 30″ x 11″
This is my latest watercolour entitled ‘Storm Brewing At Porthgwarra Cove’, a watercolour on Arches rough paper. 140lb. 1/4 imperial. It’s a clasic scene of the granite rock formations found at Land’s End. This particular cove is situated close to one of my favourite places in Cornwall which is Porthcurno. I’ve never visited Porthgwarra, but it does look a stunning place. I’ve lived in Cornwall for nearly 23 years now and there is still so much undiscovered country!
All my exhibitions have now finished for the season and it’s time to start planning for next year. There will be extra venues and opportunities next year as I have been invited to join The Cornwall Watercolour Society and I also plan to approach the East Cornwall Society of Artists who have a long exhibition at Polperro. I’ll need a few months to build up my portfolio again! Until next time…
Happy painting
Pete
Storm Brewing At Porthgwarra Cove. Watercolour on Arches rough paper. 140lb. 1/4 imperial
I’ve been a bit quiet this month regarding painting. Firstly because I’ve been preparing work for several exhibitions. Bude Art society exhibition started last Saturday and runs until 3rd October at Bude Castle. Also the Gwynngala exhibition at Rock commences on the 18th September and runs until 25th at the Institute in Rock.
I’ve completed this this acrylic today, and if I can get it framed in time, I will be exhibiting it at Rock. This is called ‘Beached At Polperro’ and is painted on canvas. I do occasionally paint in acrylic and I was trying out a different brand (Golden Acrylics). It took me a few sessions to paint this, but I’m happy with the end result.
This is ‘Padstow Harbour’ a watercolour on my favourite Arches paper. As most of my current work is residing in the Tintagel exhibition at the moment, I needed to paint a relevent scene for the up-and-coming exhibition at Padstow. As both exhibitions overlap by one day I can’t use the exhibits from Tintagel for Padstow. I may well do another Padstow scene before the exhibition starts on 31st August. We’ll see…
Happy painting
Pete
Padstow Harbour. Watercolour on Arches CP paper. 140lb. 1/2 imperial
The Camel Art Society exhibition at Tintagel starts tomorrow and runs until 31st August. If you are in the area it’s well worth a visit as there is a lot of great art on display (and for sale of course!). Here’s a preview of my exhibits.
July 21st 2019 marked the annual Heritage Day in Bude. I was in attendance for Bude Art Society painting a demonstration in watercolour. I chose a local scene to paint, which was Crackington Haven, a small cove just up the coast from Boscastle. Crackington Haven also suffered a devastating flood in 2004, but was rather overshadowed by the more famous Boscastle flood at the same time. I can’t believe that was 15 years ago! It still seems a recent event to me. Anyway, I digress. This is the result of the demonstration that I painted on the day. Until next time…
Happy painting
Pete
Crackington Haven. Watercolour on Arches rough paper. 140lb. 1/2 imperial.
This is ‘The Old Post Office – Tintagel’ a watercolour on Arches CP paper. 1/2 imperial. As my next exhibition is taking place in Tintagel I wanted to paint a local landmark. The Old Tintagel Post Office is now under the patronage of the National Trust. The building is very old, dating from 1380 and was a Cornish Hall-House. It was used as a post office in Victorian times. The view shown here is not fully visible from this angle due to a large tree in the corner of the garden. I have used ‘artistic licence and moved the tree to the rear of the house. I’ve also had to use several photos from different angles go construct the left hand side of the building. Hope you like it.
Happy painting
Pete
The Old Post Office – Tintagel. Watercolour on Arches CP paper. 1/2 imperial.
This is ‘Boats At Mullion Cove’ a watercolour on Arches rough paper. As I have several exhibitions that I’m taking part in this year, I need to have enough pictures to submit. This watercolour is to fill a gap made by my sale of a picture at the Padstow exhibition. I still need to paint about half a dozen more to be sure I don’t run out! The next exhibition is scheduled for 27th July at Tintagel and will run until the end of August. In the meantime I’d better get painting!
Happy painting
Pete
Boats At Mullion Cove. Watercolour on Arches rough paper. 140lb. 1/2 imperial.
Pete Batho Artist 