Tag: Suffolk

St Edmund, Kessingland NR33 7SQ

Here is the church of St Edmund, Kessingland, seen from the south.

Church of St Edmund, Kessingland. Sketched 11 February 2024, 12:30 in Sketchbook 14

I was a guest of the bell ringers, who kindly invited me to their loft. There are six bells. I witnessed their splendid peals, which made the tower shake slightly under my feet. This was a surprise to me, as the walls of the tower are about three foot thick. But apparently it’s perfectly normal. Then I went outside and sketched the church from the south.

It was a beautiful place to stand and sketch: a peaceful country churchyard. The gravestone in front of me, in the foreground in the picture, carried stone carved flowers, and cushions of moss.

view from the bell ringers’ loft

This tower is very old. According to the Historic England listing, the tower is from the 15th century and Grade I listed. There is neat flint work, in a chequerboard pattern higher up and in vertical lines lower down, with a horizontal border at ground level. The nave is thatched! It has recently received new thatch, in a glowing russet colour which you can just see to the right of the tower.

The church is about half a mile from the sea. There is a stained glass window, dated 2007, by Nicola Kantorowicz, dedicated to the “Glory of God and the memory of Kessingland driftermen, ‘where ever they may rest'”. It was given by G. Jack Strowger in memory of his wife Katherine. There is a ship’s wheel on the wall, and another on a low pulpit. An anchor hangs from the wall, “in loving memory of Jack and Mary Smith”.

The nave of the Church of St Edmund, Kessingland, looking east.

It’s well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Woodbridge Tide Mill IP12

I sketched the wonderful Woodbridge Tide Mill earlier this month.

Woodbridge Tide Mill 4th April 2023, in Sketchbook 13, 10″ x 8″

The boats in the foreground are “Oystercatcher” on the left, and “Isla” on the right.

The Tide Mill was working when I visited. Huge wheels turned powerfully as water poured down from the Mill Pond. The water drives a millstone which grinds flour. There is also a tide-operated mobile phone charger in the mill!

Flour from the Mill, ground by tide power

This picture took me about an hour, drawn and coloured on location.

Here are some maps so you can find the Tide Mill. It’s a short walk from the railway station.

(c) openstreetmap contributors
sketchmap
from the tide mill website

Excelsior, LT472, Lowestoft

I sketched “Excelsior” which was moored in Lowestoft Heritage Quay.

She is a former fishing smack, built 1921, now a training vessel based at Lowestoft.

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LT472 Excelsior 9″x7″ watercolour [original sketch SOLD, prints available]

The water was very muddy because a dredger was at work in the river channel, providing education and entertainment to those on the jetty.

It took me 1 hour 15 minutes to draw Excelsior. I was sitting on the concrete, facing away from the dredger entertainment and looking at Excelsior through a fence.

Here is work in progress.

Kessingland

 

Here are the roofs of a terrace of houses in Kessingland, near Lowestoft. The date on the terrace is 1860.

Each house, originally identical, has now its own idiosyncratic extensions and extra roofs. All the chimneys are different. Crows called all the time while I sketched.

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Here’s the view over the back gardens.

See all the washing lines, hauled up using nautical pulley systems. This picture was done in almost exactly the same position as the one of the roofs, but looking in a different direction.

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Both pictures, pen and wash in a Jacksons watercolour sketchbook.

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Suffolk Sketchbook, June 2018

I drew a picture from a bird hide, looking over the estuary of the River Blyth.

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Bird Hides make good places for watercoloring. Here is the view from a Bird Hide at Minsmere.

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I had a go at drawing birds too.

 

In the evening, kayakers made their way upriver against the tide.

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I watched the crabbers on the quay.

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All pictures in a Katazome Sketchbook with vintage paper, from the Vintage Paper Company, experimenting with loose watercolour technique.

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Katazome Watercolour sketchbook, from the Vintage Paper Company.

 

Greyhounds on the beach

Walking on Kessingland beach, the sun shone and the wind blew. The greyhounds ran about wildly, but, in the manner of greyhounds, were soon ready to go home.

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Watercolour on Vintage Handmade paper 150gsm, from the Vintage Paper Company.