Showing posts with label Swansea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Swansea. Show all posts

Thursday, 19 April 2012

Painting in Swansea and the Gower Peninsula

For the first day on the south coast around Swansea, it was again all rain.  A trip round the Gower peninsula, ending at Rhossili Bay, was biblically wet.  A long walk to Worms Head ended in a complete soaking!  

Worms Head (Acrylic, 5 x 7)

A herd of patient cows with their calves stood in a field on the headland and they, too, became models.

Cow and Calf, Rhossili (Oil, 5 x 7)

I hadn't appreciated that Swansea had such a lovely big beach, and on my way back I was able to get some end-of-the-day photos (once I'd dried my camera out again) across the sands of the sunset over the Mumbles in the distance.

End of the Day, Swansea (Oil on linen, 16 x 16)

The next day was completely different - blustery and sunny, with bright skies full of lovely quick-moving clouds.  Exploring the little bays round the peninsula, which had beach-huts and surfers, the bright sun and blue skies made the scenery look almost Mediterranean.

Caswell Bay (Oil on linen, 30 x 30)

Once again at Rhossili Bay, with its wide sweep of sand, I took a series of photos which would later be turned into a number of postcards, acrylics, and the centrepiece of the show, a large 32 x 48" canvas.  

 Big Cloud over Rhossili Bay (Acrylic, 5 x 7)

Rhossili Bay (Oil on linen, 32 x 48)

I find that it's easy to get mesmerised by one particular aspect of a landscape, and to concentrate on that to the exclusion of all else, and with such a wonderful coastline, it's obvious to look at the sea the whole time.  However, I found that there were some beautiful fields on the Gower which had just been harvested, and the round bales of hay made beautiful shapes, as well as being a rich contrast in colour to the blues of the sea.


Harvest, Gower Peninsula (Oil on linen, 32 x 32)