Rainy Day Thoughts

Rainy Day Thoughts

It’s a cold wet Friday Bank Holiday in June, it is also the middle of half term for my children. A few years ago and it would have been my half term too. I would have had four weeks left till summer which was mainly spent cleaning the classrooms and workshops in the school I worked at so if there were visitors over the summer then the spaces would be tidy and safe.

I did that job for many years, there was a time and a season for everything. First term in the September was spent preparing all the projects and materials for the first three years of the high school, whilst they settled into the theory. The second term was a hectic one of ordering materials for GCSE and A-levels, helping them with their projects, it was all hands on deck and I ended up working a lot of Saturday mornings too to help them get through all the practical elements of their course. The Third term was exam prep for the A-levels and GCSEs so I had some support in the first three years of the high schools ages but with all the course work being finished my hectic schedule died down to getting everything neat and tidy.

But what does this have to do with art you may ask. Well I find working easier when I have the house alone, especially as it means I’m not always having to monitor my youngest who is type 1 diabetic but it means I can crank up the music, immerse myself in the noise and paint.

Painting of skippool Creek

But once the painting is finished , there is a flow of things, photography, editing in Photoshop, writing copy, copy and more copy and then sharing everything on social media and uploading it here to the website. I dreamt for years that I could get someone to do it for me, to get my work out into the world, as I am a quiet sort and don’t really enjoy drawing attention to myself.

What I mean to say is that I think I need to create a time and a season for marketing, for actually getting my work out into the world. To get more people seeing my work, as if they don’t see it they can’t know it exists, they can’t buy it.

On this rainy day all I the thoughts I can think is that my old way of trying to just use social media isn’t working out for me, I need to switch it up, I’m not doing this for fame or fortune, I am doing it as I enjoy it and each painting that I sell allows me to keep making, as painting can be expensive from frames, to paints and canvas, it all adds up. And the more I sell the more I can get my head down and just keep painting and drawing.

Painting of Blackpool's Giant Mirror Ball on the prom, against a background of a blue shed and plain timber foreground

So yes, if you are reading this please consider buying something from the shop, even if it is just a print.

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Blackpool Burger Bar

Blackpool Burger Bar


Burgers, Donuts, Fish and Chips

Blackpool is a hive of activity, selling food to holiday makers along the seafront is a lucrative business. every space is taken up between food and B&Bs and even entertainment.

Original A4 watercolour painting with drawing in ink and posca markers.

 

This screams Blackpool

  • Lots of buildings, huts
  • All serving food, sweet treats
  • Along the seafront
  • buy here

 

 

 

I am the sea

I am the sea

 

I live by the sea

I dream of the sea

I am the sea

 

Waves washing

Against the shore

Crackling through rocks

 

I live by the sea

I dream of the sea

I am the sea

 

Grinding down

Eroding everything

Until it is sand

 

I live by the sea

I dream of the sea

I am the sea

 

Slowly drifting 

Along the shore

Never the same twice

 

I live by the sea

I dream of the sea

I am the sea

 

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Largs Sea Front Views

Such a fun word, Largs

  • means “the slopes”
  • Vikings and scots battled here
  • home of Vikingar!
  • Buy here

Largs Sea Front Views


A strange sort of tourist trap

My wife is from East Ayrshire in Scotland so when we are visiting we often visit Largs seafront, visit the Viking Museum, go on the ferry, eat fish and chips followed by a round of ice cream. The scene itself is from Aitken St, Largs, North Ayrshire, Scotland.

Original A4 painting watercolour, posca markers and fountain pen

 

 

 

 

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We Don’t Promote Gambling

Cleveleys Town Centre

  • just pen and ink
  • I made a series without watercolour
  • Love the colour of this blue ink
  • buy here

We Don’t Promote Gambling


It’s just the shapes were interesting

I promise it has very little to do with gambling as I don’t do it myself and none of my art so far is sponsored by any companies, or has even been used to promote any companies. If you need an illustrator for your business contact me.

Cleveleys is close by only being the next town over from Fleetwood and only a short trip on the tram. And has quite a few buildings with character.

original A5 pen and ink drawing on white card.

 

 

 

 

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Bispham Kitchen Fish and Chips

North Blackpool

  • Start of the illuminations
  • Plenty of people get food here
  • Before walking through the illuminations
  • Buy here

Bispham Kitchen Fish and Chips


The Start of the Illuminations

At the north end of the illuminations, plenty of people stop here grab fish and chips and then walk through the tableaux section of the illuminations or into town and then grab a tram back. It can be a nice way to spend a crisp autumn’s evening, and something I did a few times with friends as a teenager, in the dark of October.

A4 watercolour painting drawn with yellow posca marker and lamy safari fountain pen.

 

 

 

 

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Sketchbook Adventures The Stone Grill

Sketchbook Adventures The Stone Grill


More Blackpool architecture that overlooks the seafront.

I enjoy working quickly especially as this paper absorbs ink, especially if you hold the pen still even for a fraction of a second. It can be a fun challenge working fast enough whilst still retaining the readability of the sketch.

This drawing is of The Stone Grill, which overlooks the sea at the north end of Blackpool, away from the bright lights of Blackpool itself and much closer to the Norbreck Castle, which is unique in being nothing like a castle.

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Golden Mile Amusements

Golden Mile Amusements


A stones throw from Blackpool’s golden sands

The Golden Mile in Blackpool lies between the Pleasure Beach in the South with the South Pier past all the amusements, the Blackpool Tower and finishes at the North Pier. This stretch is Golden because it is where all the foot traffic is and you see crowds in the summer walking along the Golden Mile using businesses as they go.

It was the boom in the town that had my Grandad’s family of blacksmiths move to the coast from Myerscough. The promise of work and trade brought them to this area of the coast in the 19th century near what was the Blackpool Central station. The rest of that family moved to Fleetwood and they worked alongside the boat builders in Fleetwood.

 

Isn’t Blackpool Amusing

  • Seafront covered with entertainment
  • Interesting Architecture
  • Sea-life Centre
  • Click here to buy