Visitation(s)

I can't believe I just wrote one sentence in my previous blog post and then ran off.  How rude.  Today I am determined to write a proper blog.

Yesterday I took the day off from manning The Cabin to take a tour round some North East Open Studios venues.  I planned my route quite carefully, trying to take account of driving times and distances, and also to plan some refreshment stops.  I still took a snack box with me, of course, in case of emergencies or paucity of coffee shops.  When I got home at 7pm, the snack box was empty.  More due to my lack of good planning than anything else. 

I always underestimate travelling times and had also completely ignored the possibility that the northeast countryside would be at its most enticing on a sunny September afternoon.  My first stop was at a venue nearby, with many talented artists all exhibiting together.  I stopped to chat, making acquaintance, gleaning information about art classes and workshops.  It is always interesting to hear how others have arrived where they are today.  It would be lovely to meet up with some of these folk throughout the year, to continue these conversations.   I even bought something.  I may tell you later what it was.

Onwards to a village hall in the bowels of the country, to view paintings by a local art group.  A range of work was on view, along with some fascinating scupltures, based mainly on boulders sifted from farmers' fields.  This visit was followed by a hare northwards across the countryside to a wee place that I've only been to once before, to catch a friend's exhibition before closing.  She had just sold a painting, and had sold several in the past few days, so was feeling happy.  Luckily there was a tea shop next door with homebakes on offer and a very cheerful girl serving at the counter.  She was doing so in between giving loving "bosies" to a tiny person who I assumed was her nearly-new niece.

Between these visits I stopped several times, once backtracking completely and parking at the edge of a stubble field.  The sky was so entrancing, I'm surprised that no following vehicles reported me for erratic driving.  On a day made for dawdling, I seemed to encounter more than my fair share of impatient drivers, who drove right up my backside (not literally).  This meant that pulling over suddenly when I spotted a field or cloud or building that was of interest was completely impossible.  So, I stopped a few times, in safe places, and took photographs.  Here are a few of them.

 

 

My last port of call was to a little coastal village that I have not visited for a long time.  It is not so little any more.  Houses seemed to blanket the fringes of the place, which were now darkly solid.  I talked photography for a while at a venue which I had not planned to visit, then wandered to the harbour, camera in hand.  Again, the sky was full of movement and life.  Clouds, dark and grey and menacing on one side; fluffy and white and shining on the other.   Skeins of geese passed overhead more than once.  The boats in the harbour waited patiently for the tide to turn.  I turned and came home.

Sketching & photographs

I went on a trip up to Collieston this afternoon; it's on the coast about 4 miles north of Newburgh, which is itself about 12 miles or so north of Aberdeen. It's a wee fishing village, complete with harbour, cottages and a bit of sandy beach.

The sun had finally come out, so it was a good chance to get some photographs of somewhere scenic, and different to where I usually go. I can't remember the last time I was there. It's well looked-after. There are public toilets down at the front. There's parking to the north of the village, with a footpath that takes you round to the harbour (or you can park there, I found out afterwards). I sat on a bench on the approach to the pier and sketched for quite a while. I tend to be a bit too ambitious when sketching; should try and concentrate on one small area in future. I end up having to draw about twenty houses, where a couple might be better. I took some photos too. It was lovely and sunny, but pretty chilly in the wind.

Two sketches later, I walked round to the south side of the bay, along the front of the village, complete with upturned rowing boats, creels, little sheds and bright pink and orange buoys dotted about the place. I meandered down to the shore, peered into some rockpools and took some more photos, this time of the rockpools, a series of waves coming into a sluice in the rocks, and the clouds scudding past the top of the cliffs overhead. Among other things. One more sketch from the south side of the bay, then homewards, as it was really chilly again, the sun having gone in. The cliff face by the car park caught my eye; lovely colours and textures - warm red sandstone with what I believed to be some fool's gold in it.