Painting “Beach at Bamburgh”
Plein‑Air Painting – Acrylic on Paper
Bamburgh Beach, Bamburgh, Northumberland, England, UK
The beach at Bamburgh Castle is epic – no other word for it.
My acrylic painting, above, tries to capture the glorious wide sand at Bamburgh. It stretches for as far as the eye can see. It's a feature that's inspired a lot of landscape art, and even more fine art photography.
The castle sits above the beach on its recognisable mound, with the dunes below it. Bamburgh and its castle on the Northumberland coast really is a marvellously unique place.
I've managed to visit it three times so far. Once on the way back home, as a last night in Northumbria, having stayed on Lindisfarne Island for a few days.
On that occasion, I got up in the morning to discover the place shrouded in the thickest of fogs – so thick you couldn't even see the castle from the beach! Fortunately the last two trips to Bamburgh have both been wonderful.
This painting explores an idea for a large studio oil painting. The shapes in the sand made by the receding sea, and the seagulls standing facing into the wind, are all typical of a day at Bamburgh.
This was painted after my first full week staying in the small town behind the castle. It's a view from North of the fort, looking South, and the classic Bamburgh Castle profile.
After a second full week on this Northumbrian coast location some three years later, I've really got a better feel for the place. It takes time to absorb a landscape.
The beautiful patterns nature leaves on beaches, always fascinate me. The movement of the sea, shaping furrows where water lingers can be especially lovely, reflecting the sky as they do.
One of my earliest paintings that I managed not to throw in the bin half‑way through, was of water‑filled undulations on a beach. I'm contemplating making it a theme. Of course, how many hours in the day? Answer: not nearly enough.