Urban chill
After a frosty morning urban sketching in Hove, what you need is a comfy chair and a hot coffee.
Then you can feel your fingers and toes and do it all over again.
I love Paris in the fall
View from the Dome of the Sacre-Coeur
I’ve only ever seen Paris in the depths of winter before, so this autumn adventure with my mum was the trip of a lifetime.
I wasn’t planning to sketch, but after the 300 steep steps up to the top of the Sacré-Coeur, mum’s coeur was ready for a decent sit down. Luckily, I am always prepared for a bit of plein air painting!
A memento I painted for mum, don’t tell her though as it’s a surprise…
It was surprisingly peaceful in the Dome, away from the swarming crowds below. I was able to peer over the edge, working quickly whilst ‘le petit train de Montmartre’ waited below.
My three top tips for Paris are:
- If you have the luxury, save it for Autumn, after the schools go back.This has to be the most beautiful time of year to see the city.
- Get the free Paris Metro app
- Keep this essential blog post from Riana Lagarde available at ALL times. Although I found that there were more free pee’s than expected and Madame Pipi at the Sacre-Coeur has been replaced with an alarmingly chirpy attendant.
I want to be a part of it
New York New York, I imagined it to be just like it’s pictured in Tony Sarg’s ‘Up and down New York’ but there were far fewer hats and there was no hurricane at the Flatiron Building.
The flatiron building
You’ll never get me on a clipper ship.
The Guggenheim. Shut on a Thursday.
Liberty’s behind
The colour of fear
Porthminster beach, St Ives
St Ives Harbour – pen and ink
Be warned that there is a dark underworld of gull-gangs hanging out in St Ives.
They swig bootleg cider and place bets on whether tourist scalp has more protein than Cornish pasty. Then feed endlessly off both between 12 and 2pm every day.
My advice is NEVER sketch near someone eating a Cornish pasty in St Ives. Not unless you have a bucket and several heavy duty wet-wipes to clear up the mess. I know from experience.
So ferocious they mess with your brain
The intense lightning storms over the UK this week started here in the South West.
I would have loved to sketch them, but it’s hard to mix up a good ivory black when you are cowering behind the sofa!
St Ives Harbour
After all that drama, you might think those vivid colours were a result of adrenaline rush, but the light here is truly something else. Even a grim misty morning blazes with an eerie quality.
“The Island” from Barnoon cemetery
It’s not surprising that this landscape inspired an art movement.
I took a trip to Barnoon cemetery to find fisherman and self taught painter Alfred Wallis.
His grave is beautifully tiled by Bernard Leach. I was moved by this tribute to a man whose honest paintings, with their wacky perspective, inspired the early St Ives artists.
Pencil in the mizzle
The morning after the storms
No cars and no bras!
Today was a perfect day for Brighton’s ninth World Naked Bike ride. It’s a peaceful protest against car culture and oil dependency. 
Those brave enough to, bare as much as they dare, to demonstrate the power and vulnerability of cyclists.
If you are feeling shy… wear a mask!
The atmosphere was friendly and relaxed. Everyone seemed to be having a fantastic time, particularly those in the fountain at the Old Steine!
Bras and cars
I saw my first ‘clothed’ VW camper at the London to Brighton classic car run last weekend.
It’s wearing this lovely Vunder-Bra made by Volksheaven. I’m not convinced it gives adequate support, but it looks marvellous.
Sketching, Swiss style
A gentle start in Chur…
The Glacier Express in Switzerland is one of the slowest express trains in the world, but still makes for high speed sketching.
On to Gornergrat.
The final train journey home, via Geneva. Even the Brighton train was on time!
Brighton Festival 2014
The children’s parade kicked off the 2014 Brighton festival last weekend. The theme was “the arts.” I love it when kids get to choose! Yoda is an art house legend.
Shoreham Fort
Had Napoleon III took a day trip to Shoreham, he would have come face to face with the large gun which sat on this emplacement
Shoreham Fort was built in 1857 to defend against French invasion. Luckily, Napoleon III was too busy renovating Paris to bother attacking the good people of Shoreham. As it turned out, the real threat came 100 years later when the Barrack block was demolished.
The fort is now being lovingly restored by volunteers, so this little nugget of Victorian innovation stays with us.
Easter treats
Brighton is awash with bloom and after this Easter I’m 28% cocoa. That’s more than your average mini egg.
