Author: Jane

Recently I enjoyed a weeks holiday in Sennen with lots of walking and painting. Now you might be surprised why I would want to holiday in Sennen, when I live so close to it, and the reason is two-fold. One relates to Covid and the potential problems of travelling, and the other is, by staying somewhere I can have one week to enjoy the sunshine, the sunset and everything in-between. I don’t have a sea view from where I live and it is an absolute joy to experience such a beautiful view for one week.

On the Saturday the weather was glorious so we walked along the south west coast path, which involved walking past the glorious Gwenver Beach, where I sat and sketched the painting above. However I just haven’t manage to capture the stunning white sands and the total peace and tranquality that you feel when you sit on the beach. I have taken photographs so I will have another attempt.

On the rest of the days the weather was quite cloudy but on the day we walked across to Nanjizal bay the sun came out and it was simply glorious! The tide was coming in but we ventured down on to the beach for a short while, and I just don’t have enough adjectives to describe this beautiful place. I should mention it isn’t an easy walk, and there is nowhere to park close by to park, not to mention scrambling across the large boulders on the beach to reach the sand – but it was well worth it!

The above are sketches of the view from our accommodation where I tried to capture the fog rolling in and the waves rolling on to the shore.

As you can imagine I love Sennen and I have taken loads of photographs so I can’t wait to get my paints out at home!

We have recently had a wonderful spell of weather here in Cornwall and so I was delighted to be able find a nice comfy seat, get my paints out and enjoy sketching at The Lizard in the glorious sunshine.

Parking at The Lizard we walked down Lizard Head Lane and joined the coast path from Kynance Cove to The Lizard, stopping at a lovely sheltered spot by Old Lizard Point to capture the scene and sketch the rocks that were exposed as it was low tide.

Heading on further we stopped for a lunch at Polpeor Cafe, where we were able to sit outside and I had a great spot to capture another view of The Lizard.

What a great day, walking and painting in the sunshine! Bring on more spring days.

In 2018 we decided to go in search of some snow, not to ski but just to look at and marvel at its beauty. Here are sketches of snow in Switzerland from our magical tour around Switzerland, where despite the extremely cold weather, I managed to get my paints out.

We decided on Switzerland, where we undertook a mini-tour around this country that we love. Little did we know at the time that whilst we were away Cornwall would end up covered in snow. This was due to the arrival of “the beast from the east!”

As it was ski season we were able to fly from Exeter to Geneva. On arrival we got the train to Basel – our first stop.

Basel

It was incredibly cold in Basel. However our first day was very a sunny day, which was glorious. I was even able to sit and sketch some of the beautiful buildings.

Filisur

Next stop was Filisur, going via Chur so we got the train up to Arosa. However it was so cold minus 18 degrees! It was not only was it too cold to paint, it was too cold to be outside! Still the train trip up to Arosa and back, going through the snow covered forests was stunning.

When planning our trip I wanted to experience a moutain village and Filisur certainly did that. It was a lovely little village and our hotel room had a full length door/window, with a great view over the valley. A great spot to watch the trains winding up through the mountains to nearby Bergun. If you look at my sketch above, look for the red train.

We stayed for a few days, getting the Bernina Express one day to Tirano. I managed a quick sketch of the nearby mountains where sitting on the train.

Another day we walked to the magnificent Landweisser viaduct. It was so sunny and felt warm, I decided to sit down and sketch the scene. However I became quite puzzled at the strange texture that was being created on my page. I realised the water on my brush was quickly turning into ice crystals! On our last day we woke up to snow, so out came the paints as I tried to capture the scene.

Brig

Back on the train – and not just any train The Glacier Express. We were travelling from Filisur to our next stop at Brig – just magical. Back to painting the scene from our hotel room, this time it was the mountains at Brig. Our last visit was to Zermatt, where we were hoping to see The Matterhorn. It was quite a coldy day, but the clouds did clear for a short time so I was able to sit down and quickly capture the scene. The temperature was now above freezing and so the water in my brush didn’t freeze!

Our trip back didn’t run quite as smooth because by this time Geneva airport was covered in snow. Exeter Airport had closed the day before and the morning of our flight! Luckily it opened for a couple of hours and we managed to get home!

A truly magical holiday, with memories that will stay with me forever.

Take a look at my page on Switzerland for more of my paintings.

Here are my sketches from a holiday to Switzerland back in September 2016, when I travelled from Lucerne to Interlaken, then finally down to Montreux.

Lucerne area

We caught the 7pm flight from Bristol airport, and after our 3 hour train transfer we arrived whilst it was enjoying a mini heatwave. We quickly unpacked, walked along
Matthias Luchsinger Platz, sat under a shady tree and enjoyed the beautiful scenery of the lake with the mountains in the distance, with locals and tourists alike enjoying the sunshine.

I kept the colours muted, as the sunshine created a heat haze however I wanted to focus on all the boats on the lake.

Next morning (Thursday) the weather broke and it was raining, luckily the showers didn’t last long. We decided to do the golden trip to Mount Pilatus, which included crossing the Lake on boat to Alphnachstad, where we ascending the moutain in the steepest cog railway. Sadly the weather was very changeable and whilst it didn’t rain the clouds were coming and going.

This is me capturing the mountain summit with the little red train climbing up.

Friday and the weather was still quite cloudy but undeterred we set off on the Lake again. Whilst walking from Weggis to Vitznau I tried my fasted painting yet! This was capturing a paddle steamer as it sailed past.

Interlaken area

On Saturday we left beautiful Lucerne and travelled by train through the  Brünig pass to Interlaken, unfortunately by the time we arrived it was wet. Whilst we did do a little sightseeing I didn’t get my paints out.

Sunday and it was still raining but we headed off on the local bus to St. Beatus Hoehlen

As it was raining I tried a little sketch from the side, which was a shame because it was just so unbelieavably beautiful. Waterfalls fell down the hillside and to me looked like Rivendell.

Monday and the sun decided to show its face and we ventured up to Murren. We were rewarded with stunning views of the mountain, waterfalls and valley.

We walked from Murren to Winteregg, which has a first class view of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau, although by this time the clouds were covering the top of the mountain.

Tuesday and we sent off to visit the sun on top of the Jungfrau, the sun shone and it was glorious but sorry no painting.

On our way back down from the mountain we visited Wengen, and that had a wonderful view down the Lauterbrunnen valley.

Montreux area

Wednesday and we are back on the train travelling to Montreux.

Our hotel was right by the Lake, so whilst it was a little cloudy it was so peaceful and I sat and did this little sketch.

Thursday and we enjoyed walking along the lake by Vevey, where I again tried to capture a passing Paddlesteamer!

Later on I ventured down to the lakeside. Montreux has a long promenade and it has little hidden spots with seating areas, just perfect for another sketch.

On Friday we walked along to the Chateau de Chillon.

Saturday and time to come home, however our room had a wonderful view across the Lake so I had time for one last experimental painting, where I didn’t use pen and ink. I wanted to capture the mood of the mountains that kept disappearing into a heat haze as the day warmed up.

Well I hope you enjoyed my sketches from Switzerland, I love this country and visited three different locations, they all had a different personality, not to mention weather!

Here are some of my sketches from a holiday in Mayrhofen, during September in the beautiful Tyrol area of Austria, back when we were able to travel freely!

Click on any of the images to see a larger version.

The weather was good during the first half of our week, and the second half was a bit intermittent with some damp in the air. That proved to be great fun trying to still be able to paint!

We travelled, via the local bus, to Hintertux, where by travelling on three cable cars we found the snow! After exploring on the top of the mountain we came down one cable car to Tuxer Fernerhaus, a large restaurant area where we had warming soup and I did a sketch to capture the skiers and cable car. Then after descending two more cable cars we decided to explore the area around Hintertux and found a delightful waterfal, so out came my paints againt!

One of the, looking up the entrance of the Gerlostal valley, was painted whilst at the train station at Zell am Ziller. I had 25 minutes until the next train so I was a woman on a mission!

The last day I found a beautiful spot just on the outskirts of Mayrhofen, which was looking down towards Finkenberg and the surrounding mountains. Well it might have been spitting but I took cover under the trees and managed a quick sketch.

I hope you enjoy them as I enjoyed the holiday.