HCRart Travel : Coast

Showing posts with label Coast. Show all posts

Having spent most of my life living by the coast and having more than one beach just 15/20 minutes walk from where I was staying, I've been missing this the past few weeks since moving back to Edinburgh. There is a beach here but it's either a bus ride away or over 1h walking. I'm happy to walk but with shorter days, somewhere nearer would be ideal.

Today, I found it! There's a place not so far from where I live which has water with waves, some seaweed - for added seaside feels(!), a nice stretch to walk along, and great views. There may not be sand but it's still as close to a beach-like place as I can get and today it was simply stunning.

The sun was shining glistening on the still waters first with silvery hues and gradually becoming golden as time passed and the sun began to set.

At moments I felt as though I had been transported to a coastal city in the States or even the UAE! The incredibly cold wind brought be back to my Scottish reality however. This contributed to me not sketching while there but I will be sure to do some acrylic sunset paintings in my studio from the photos soon. I really want to capture those strong, fiery, scorching, shades of the setting sun.

I always find looking out to water really relaxes and calms me. Scientific research also shows that there are multiple benefits of 'blue spaces' so it's certainly worth seeking out blue spaces wherever you live.

Laying back, enjoying the views, and snacking on a tortilla wrap 😊

Just look at that natural beauty *heart eyes* !!

If you'd like to see how my paintings turn out, follow my Instagram account @HCRart where I post snaps from what I paint in my studio. I'm also on Facebook and you can find me at www.facebook.com/hcr.art

Have a great day, and remember to embrace and enjoy the small things in life

HCRx

Sketching at Inverbervie bay

This place lovely place to be; perfect for walking, picnics, and, naturally, sketching. There were also a number of people fishing in the sea. Much as I enjoy fresh fish, however, fishing has never appealed to me. There's no way I'd have the patience for it. Even more so if I was hungry at the time!

For the painting I did here, I chose a general view of the bay from a conveniently placed number of large rocks which made for a reasonably comfy seat and table for my paints and water pot. I used a few wee pebbles from the beach to prop up my watercolour box and I was all set.

The thing that was most troublesome while painting was, as is pretty standard in Scotland, moving clouds changing the light every so often. This is always annoying but I've become quite used to it by now. I usually go with the most flattering light and try to work from memory when the light is obscured by the pesky clouds!

Here are some pics showing various progress stages of my painting.

In the final moments of painting it got a bit chilly but once I'd finished the sun came out again so I went for a stroll along the pebble-y beach to warm up. It's so calming walking along a beach, looking out to sea and seeing the vast stretch of water all around.

I liked this fishing boat planter. Great way to re-use an old boat.

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After the stop at Glenfinnan to see the loch and Jacobite railway (see last post) it was full steam ahead to the coast (sorry, couldn't resist that pun). As the road across from Glenfinnan to the West Coast is so scenic I made a couple of pit stops at aesthetically positioned lay bys on the way there. Although unplanned, I feel that when travelling anywhere it is impossible to stick to a rigid plan or route. Spontaneity and travel tend to go hand in hand.

'All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.' Martin Buber

One of these lay-bys had information about the famous Glencoe massacre (1692), one of the darkest points of Scottish history. In a place of such majestic magnificence it is sad to think of what happened there so many years ago but thankfully episodes like that are confined to history in and around Glencoe.

While stopped at one of the lay-bys I did a quick sketch in my ever-trusty Moleskine sketchbook. After standing sketching for a little while I found that if I went back a bit and leaned against the back of the car I could sketch with surprisingly comfortable support! The late-morning sun was pleasantly warm directly above me so I felt I was in the prime spot for sketching at that point.

It was a view from further into the photo below that I was sketching. The focus of my composition was the viaduct you can just about make out in the upper left quadrant of this picture.

Although I was enjoying the suns soothing rays I knew I needed to get to the coast as soon as possible to catch the best of the day there. I hoped to time my visit to the coast when the weather conditions allowed for the water to appear turquoise and the sand to be as white as possible at the beaches there. Ever since passing that part of the West Coast on the train as a child when I saw the water there for the first time in all its beautiful turquoise glory I have wanted to go back to the area and not just pass by but be able to walk along the beach and embrace the surroundings. It amazes me that despite Scotland being located where it is in the world, an area that no-one could ever think of as being 'tropical', it has bays and stretches of coastline that one could easily mistake for belonging to a tropical country. Only visually, that is; the climate is the continual reminder that the beach is in fact in Scotland and definitely not a tropical country!

It was time to continue the journey to the Coast in search of tropical-looking waters and white sand.

***

Sketching at Inverbervie bay

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