Wil Harvey's Painting Blog

What finer place to get out your sketch book or paints than Suffolk’s east coast: miles of wonderful landscapes, huge skies, light that varies from shimmering intensity to dramatic twilight!  And the subject matter – from fields, hedges and marshes and red-brick hamlets, to busy maritime activity at Southwold’s Blyth harbour.  Something for everyone.

Walberswick View

  My recommendations for the leisure painter are:

• Take your sketchbook and pen with you and do rapid, loose sketches whenever you pause for a few minutes. This will give you a record of your time here (better than a postcard) and it will also improve your hand/eye coordination.
• Watercolours are always portable: use only a very few colours and stay loose!  Try doing some small paintings on watercolour postcard blocks. You can then send them to envious friends……
• Arrange the basic shapes in your picture to give an interesting composition; squinting at your subject helps as it cuts out unnecessary detail.
• Don’t spend too long on one picture; if it’s not going well, fiddling with it will only make matters worse!

Happy painting!

Wenhaston Star

Aldeburgh High Street

Wil Harvey (www.wilharvey.co.uk) took early retirement to paint ‘seriously’, and enjoys using a range of media and subjects from ink-and-wash buildings and landscapes to oil portraits. He exhibits locally and gives occasional workshops and individual tuition. He can be contacted on 01502 478606.

Walberswick Church

Southwold Harbour