I consider this my take on Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. This lovely church lies on the opposite bank of the River Wear to Durham Cathedral which can be viewed from this spot during winter months. A beautiful day relaxing on College Green This distressed facade adds to the charm of one of the many palazzios to be found on the back waters of Venice. The ancient medieval arched entrance to The College, an area on the south side of the Cathedral which is the home of the Cathedral clergy and the Chorister School. Visitors linger on the snow covered green as light fades. York Minster is one of the largest Gothic Cathedrals in Europe and is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second highest office of the Church of England. Sadly this delightful 18th Century church is set to be converted into a private dwelling house. I vividly remember childhood expeditions to surreptitiously collect shiny new conkers in the church yard. The church is near to where a claw style green glass beaker dated to the 5th century AD and of Frankish origin, was unearthed from under a hedge in 1775. The area at the time was being worked upon by local landowner Rowland Burdon. The church had been built only a few years earlier and The Beaker as it became to be known, was found with it's base sticking out of the ground by an estate worker. It is held in The British Museum and is evidently the only one of it's kind to be found in England. The entrance to the castle on a bright autumn afternoon. The medieval rose window as seen from the Bailey was installed by the Architect James Wyatt in the 18th century ostensibly to replace an original 13th century example. Short summary of Oxford The medieval Elvet bridge built in 1160 by Bishop Hugh de Puiset. This folly once belonged to Polish born 'Count' Joseph Boruwlaski (1739-1837) a dwarf musician who entertained much of european aristocracy in his lifetime ending his days in Durham City and being buried in the Cathedral. A life size statue of him and various personal effects are kept in The Town Hall. Saddler Street to the right of the painting at one time boasted a castelated gateways protecting the entrance to the Cathedral quarter, a remnant of which can be seen behind an obscure doorway off the main street. One of my very rare forays into portraiture. Membership of the Historic Houses Association does have it's benefits when you've nothing to do over a long weekend. The ancestral home of the Barnard family captured my imagination on a visit in 2017 and I could hardly wait to get it on paper once home.

Stuart Fisher Watercolours

Artist and award winning designer Stuart Fisher has exhibited his watercolour paintings across the region and as far south as Bath’s prestigious Rooksmoor Gallery. Shortly after his birth in Nuneaton Warwickshire in 1954, Stuart's parents moved to Peterlee New Town where he still lives today with his wife Anne.

Stuart believes that a large section of the art buying public are poorly served by the art market and are hungry for the return of traditional painting. He therefore specialises in the production of architectural watercolours within which he aims to imbue the atmospheric ambiance typical of Turner with the technical brilliance of his artistic hero, Sir William Russell Flint.

A career in architecture spanning almost 34 years culminated with his multi award winning design for Durham City's Science Learning Centre North East. This was followed in 2005 by what he terms 'an escape from the tyranny of the right angle' and the subsequent launch of his professional artistic career early in 2010





Original Watercolours for Sale

This distressed facade adds to the charm of one of the many palazzios to be found on the back waters of Venice.

Palazzo on a Venetian Canal
Watercolour
Size: 373 x 490 mm, 563 x 680 mm o/a.
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St Mary's Anglican Church in the former Durham mining village of Horden celebrated it's centenary on Friday 26th of April 2013. The painting was commissioned by Reverend Father Kevin Smith and the Church Council to permanently mark the event and was unveiled by the Bishops of Jarrow and Beverley.

The Miners Cathedral.
watercolour
Size: (overall frame size 1000 x 800 mm high)
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