Bandstand and pier, Herne Bay

Bandstand & pier, Herne Bay © Peter Gander

Another painting on Two Rivers paper of the view out to sea incorporating the Victorian Bandstand, the 1970s pavilion just left of centre and Neptune’s Arm to the right, which is Herne Bay harbour’s protective wall. And again, technique-wise, much is made of the rich tooth of the paper in creating sandy textures with earthy browns and good ol’ Payne’s Grey. Winsor & Newton watercolour on Two Rivers mould-made 400gsm paper.

Hampton pier angler

Hampton pier angler © Peter Gander

A new painting on a kind of paper, namely Two Rivers handmade paper, which is handcrafted in Somerset, England. I am a great fan of rough, textured papers and Two Rivers has both in spades. Unusually, the water will lie in droplets on the surface (if no washes are added previously) as it so hard-sized, but this makes for a much more workable surface. The rocky surface is made for my richly-textured work and I am already a fan and will be posting more paintings on the paper as I extend my experience with it. Winsor & Newton watercolour on Two Rivers handmade paper.

Herne Bay Pier Trust commemorative postcard

 

Commemorative Herne Bay Pier Trust Pavilion postcard © Peter Gander

I have recently produced a humorous postcard for The Herne Bay Pier Trust (HBPT) who have a newly-opened Gallery on the seafront where I live. The pier, which is disconnected from the pier head still visible a third of  a mile away at sea, is also due to lose its 1970s sports pavilion building this year. But this time it will be a demolition crew rather than a severe storm that will see the demise of this part of the pier, as the jaded pavilion building is no longer a viable sports facility though in its time it nurtured Herne Bay’s famous roller skating teams (see the HBPT website for full story). Visually, note that the construction of the sports pavilion’s roof is obviously inspired by the undulating waves of the sea and I mimicked this again in the waves in the foreground. The local angling club, The Herne Bay Angling Association holds a Monster Crabbing Competition for the kids during this week’s Herne Bay Festival which provided a good ‘stage’ for an amusing scene choc-full of people. I painted the original, with hand-lettered elements, at A3 size (420mm x 297mm), which is 8x larger than the final printed postcard dimensions. I allowed for the inclusion of the HBPT logo on the far right but hidden in the original painting behind that very space is a special saucy bonus image that only the buyer of the original painting will get to see ;) The postcards and original painting will be for sale at the HBPT gallery on the seafront with a healthy portion of the proceeds going to the Trust. Permanent ink drawing pen and Winsor & Newton watercolour on Langton Prestige 300gsm smooth paper.