Thoroughly enjoying my artist’s residency at Lighthouse Arts in Newcastle! The residency is located at the top of a headland at the entrance to Newcastle Harbour, in one of a number of white-walled heritage cottages clustered around the base of a stone lighthouse. It’s an incredibly peaceful place to work, with something of the feel of an old monastery. You can watch squat little tugs guide huge tankers into port.

Before my residency, I’d planned a series of nice, dreamlike images: ships flying against a cerulean blue sky, delicate flourishes of white wake on the water, the occasional flight of a seagull. All very picturesque. I painted my paper sky blue in anticipation, and looked forward to a nice day of sun sparkling on cobalt blue sea. The kind of day where you pack sunscreen and bottled water…

But nature has a sense of humour…

On the day I arrived, a strong wind blew rain sideways at the headland. Visibility was limited to the next grey cloud, and there was no way even the bravest gull was going to take off. The channel markers swung like metronomes. I watched as a massive tanker literally oscillated its way into port, huge deck lurching first one way and then the other.

So instead of trying to draw something nice, safe and poetic, I thought I’d try to draw an invisible entity instead. I ran around the lighthouse, rain splashing the paper, drawing the wind. Trying to catch the elemental energy and wildness of the place. As soon as I’d finished a sketch, I’d pop the paper inside so it could dry out, grabbed another one and went out again.

And it was an incredible experience! I left the paintings at the lighthouse to dry and came back the next day to finish them off. (For the technically minded, I’m working on a coloured ground – mostly sky blue but some with reddish brown under this, too. The first layer is a pencil drawing, then acrylic paint and finally acrylic pen or decent quality black ink pens).

I enjoyed it so much I’m heading off to another harbour next weekend to draw some yachts.