Maybeck is… Maybeck is just a place. Not a village, a couple of farms. A quiet place. There’s a little car park, and then footpaths to some good walks and good views… When I was there it was sunny, and then dark clouds came from the east as the setting sun bathed the landscape in a golden glow. Soon after that, a shower of snow. Yorkshire.
Maybeck. 2012. oil on canvas, 50x70x4cm, £425.
Still drawn to the Bay, this is the beck, from Chapel Street, in acrylic inks. It will be exhibited in Pannett Park Art Gallery, from 19 May to 1 July, as part of the taster exhibition for the North Yorkshire Open Studios. (for more info on the exhibition, click here: http://nyos.org.uk/Events.aspx#exhibitions )
The beck runs between the houses, then disappears under cottages until it comes out from under the dock to run into the sea. It is said that in the old days, access to the beck from some cottages provided smugglers with an escape route when authorities came to call. I once dug the basement floor of one of those cottages, but didn’t find a tunnel to the beck…
Robin Hood's Bay Beck II. Acrylic inks on watercolour paper, 20x28cm, in 40x50cm frame, £150.
I’ve spent many years in Robin Hood’s Bay, and then for the last few years it was hard to go back there…there were so many memories. But time helps, and now I can go back, and I love the village for its picturesque allure. I have been working with ink, a piece of paper, a pen. As I did 30 years ago.
Laurel Inn, Robin Hood's BayRobin Hood's Bay
Maybeck Window. Acrylics and oils on canvas, 50x50x4cm. £350
I love the recessed windows with a window seat, which one finds in many of Yorkshire old farmhouses. I went to Maybeck recently, and liked it enough to start a painting for the “hidden places, secret gems” exhibition at the Royal Hall, Harrogate, in June. But I soon realised that the painting wouldn’t be finished in time (a photo of the finished work had to be submitted by tomorrow!), so I spent a week painting this one.
http://nyos.org.uk/Events.aspx#exhibitions (Moors and Coast Artists Taster Exhibition)
The first one of the Staithes series to be started, and the last one to be finished. My favourite one of this series.
Staithes Boats, oil on canvas, 20x20x4cm.
I had never been to Port Mulgrave beach until a couple of months ago. I didn’t even know there was a beach…It is well hidden, a steep track down the cliff. But worth it. A dark beach full of fossils, quirky beach huts, and lads angling… The painting has been on my easel for weeks, I couldn’t get the sky the way I wanted it. And then yesterday it seemed to click into place. I think it’s finished… but I’ll keep it for a few weeks, at least until the paint is dry.
Angling at Port Mulgrave. oil on canvas, 50x70x4cm.
“Down Cowbar” is the second finished painting in the Staithes series 2012. It is currently exhibited in Trattles and Geall’s fine art gallery, Whitby, with “Staithes Beck” (see previous post).
Down Cowbar. oil on canvas, 30x30x4cm, £325.
P.S. You can see the other paintings of the Staithes series by clicking the Landscape tab.
The progression of Staithes Beck, used as a demonstration to Whitby Art Society.
Thank you to all who came to see my demonstration for Whitby Art Society at Sneaton Castle. It was my first one, so I felt rather nervous, but you were very kind. I carried on painting when I got home and I’ll put up a picture of the painting of Staithes as soon as it’s finished.
