Lindisfarne

[JJWilliamson]

Pastel painting of the holy island of Lindisfarne. We used to swim in the tidal pools, at low tide, from the causeway, years ago, when my parents took us to Haggerston Castle Caravan Park. It was privately owned in those days and everything was a far cry from the Haven Holidays experience of today. Not that there's anything wrong with HH, it was just a completely different experience. Lindisfarne Castle always seems remote and desolate, as if a horror movie was about to unfold. Maybe a poem in there somewhere.

Lindisfarne Castle 16 10 2018 001 (resized 800 pix) POL.jpg (256.07 KiB) Viewed 3759 times

[Macavity]

Lovely sweep of sky JJ, though my fav bit are those salt-rotted stumps of wood. I like the geometry in this - the eye drawn along the dynamic of lines, verticals and horizontals, the diagonals and curves.

That vertical on the castle... 'flag pole'?...seems rather tall in relation to the castle walls?

thanks for sharing

mac

[JJWilliamson]

Thanks, mac, for the astute and thoughtful critique of this painting. Really pleased you liked and much appreciated, as always.

Lovely sweep of sky JJ, though my fav bit are those salt-rotted stumps of wood. ...Mine too. They speak of a history and reflect the age of the castle.

I like the geometry in this - the eye drawn along the dynamic of lines, verticals and horizontals, the diagonals and curves. ...Ah, the geometry does indeed dominate, with the horizontals and verticals playing off each other.

That vertical on the castle... 'flag pole'?...seems rather tall in relation to the castle walls? ...Ha! I hoped you wouldn't notice. I've cut the pole in half, which actually is about right for the image. Thanks for that.

thanks for sharing ...You're welcome.

mac

Thanks again

Best

JJ

[David]

Very good, JJ. I've never been, and I should. Having visited Iona and Whithorn, I have to see Lindisfarne as a must at some point. It's just not the easiest place to get to from here.

Maybe a poem in there somewhere.

Yes! I would like to read one about Haggerston Castle Caravan Park, please.

(How's yourself at the moment, anyway?)

Cheers

David

[JJWilliamson]

Thanks for dropping in to comment, David. Much appreciated.

Very good, JJ. I've never been, and I should. Having visited Iona and Whithorn, I have to see Lindisfarne as a must at some point. ...If you've already visited Iona and Whithorn, you really should add Holy Island to the list. The history is fascinating and the scenery wonderful. Then, of course, there's the Lindisfarne Mead to sample. I'm assuming you can still sample it before buying a bottle. It's no wonder the monks were always singing because it's heady stuff.

It's just not the easiest place to get to from here. ...Yes, that's true. You'd have to take the M6 north from Liverpool, A69 to Newcastle then the A1 to Berwick, turning east on the way, giving you 234 miles for your efforts. It's a weekend trip at least.

Maybe a poem in there somewhere.

Yes! I would like to read one about Haggerston Castle Caravan Park, please. ...Could do. I'm having a bit of a dry spell at the moment but I'm still reading and often browsing around PG.


(How's yourself at the moment, anyway?) ...Not so bad, thank you. Hope all is well with you and yours.

Cheers

David

Thanks again

Best

JJ

[Pauline]

Wow, wow, wow !!!
Love it.
I don’t know where to start.
Ok, colours are gawjus. I particularly love the foreground rocks.
The pink/red/ orange rock, the blue/green and the ochre rock pull me towards them every time my eyes start to wander away to explore.
There’s a lot of movement in this painting.
The fabulous sky leads me to the castle, then my eyes move to the sea, then forward to the stumps of wood. No time to stop for breath, nooooo, a momentary jig across those fabulous foreground rocks and then back down the beach towards the foot of the castle.
Phew.
Stunning piece.
I LOVE it.
I also noticed the lengthy verticlal on the castle but you have corrected that.

What pastels are you using JJ?
I love working in pastel. I use Derwent. Decent pigment, I find.
The Range Daler Rowney isn’t too bad.
Do use use the pencil pastels?

I think you could successfully illustrate books.
Is this my new favorate???
Hmmm.

No. Pastel maybe but not painting.
Thanks for sharing

[JJWilliamson]

Thank you ever so much, Pauline, for the wow of a review.

Wow, wow, wow !!!
Love it.
I don’t know where to start.
Ok, colours are gawjus. I particularly love the foreground rocks. ...They took me an age, to the point that I was fed up!
The pink/red/ orange rock, the blue/green and the ochre rock pull me towards them every time my eyes start to wander away to explore. ...The colours varied so much I was drawn to them. The range of colours and shapes was compelling, so I gave it a go.
There’s a lot of movement in this painting.
The fabulous sky leads me to the castle, then my eyes move to the sea, then forward to the stumps of wood. No time to stop for breath, nooooo, a momentary jig across those fabulous foreground rocks and then back down the beach towards the foot of the castle.
Phew.
Stunning piece.
I LOVE it.
I also noticed the lengthy verticlal on the castle but you have corrected that. ...Yes, it was a bit long. It IS very tall in reality, stretching from the bottom of the castle right up into the sky, but not so much as this. ...One thing that came of this was the feeling that the castle would look quite menacing in a storm. So I've added it to my "To do" list for an oil painting. Dark, stormy and moody.

What pastels are you using JJ? ...I use Rembrandt and Unison pastels for their high saturation levels of pigment. It makes a big difference but they're not cheap.
I love working in pastel. I use Derwent. Decent pigment, I find. ...I've read that they're well worth using, so hang on to them.
The Range Daler Rowney isn’t too bad.
Do use use the pencil pastels? ...I have a couple of white pencils but the rest are soft pastels. I'm going to change or experiment further with different papers and invest in a good set of pastel pencils to bolster my collection and range.

I think you could successfully illustrate books. ...I'd like to illustrate one of my own, he said vainly.
Is this my new favorate???
Hmmm.

No. Pastel maybe but not painting. ...I still prefer paints but love pastels, charcoal and graphite. I'm with you there.
Thanks for sharing

Thanks again, Pauline, for the generous and astute critique. Much appreciated. Eeee, yarra a canny lass.

Best

JJ