The top of this truncated lane exits onto Palace Green. My wife and I have enjoyed two short breaks in Siena in recent years, attracted by the undeniably beauty of the architecture which surprises the visitor at every turn. The ancient medieval arched entrance to the College an area behind the Cathedral which is the home of the clergy and the Chorister School. The staircase to the Cathedral Chapter Office can just be made out in the shadows of the passage in the centre of view which also leads to the Cathedral workshops. Part of the 2014 Durham Cathedral Exhibition. This distressed facade adds to the charm of one of the many palazzios to be found on the back waters of Venice. 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. This church with it's Romanesque tower dating back to the 13th century, sits at the highest elevation in the village. The covered seating gives shelter and great views down the coast to Teesport to the weary traveller. 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 magnificent castle and Cathedral dominate the skyline above the river on a bitterly cold winters day. The north facing Cathedral door features an exact replica of the bronze Sanctuary Knocker. The original is normally part of the Cathedral Treasures display but was part of the Royal Academy's 'Bronze' exhibition during 2012. The entrance to The Castle under a fresh covering of snow My wife and I found this doorway with it's stunning portico and broken pediment while sauntering through the delightful cobbled streets of Girona. This pine wood forms the backdrop to the artist's garden. We came across this famous North Norfolk structure whilst laying the ground for a commissioned painting of the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in 2017. However the dramatic sky-scape was inspired by a previous visit, whilst motoring from Ely to Cromer across outherwise featureless open fenland. An apocalyptic storm was brewing some distance away across ploughed fields and I pulled over to enjoy the spectacle and take a few snaps. The billowing clouds had yet to touch the ground and a bright strip of sky formed a band across the horizon. These storms are a feature of the Norfolk landscape and I couldn't resist using what I'd seen to add drama to the Cley painting. I wanted to paint this and the view of Elvet bridge from Prince Bishop's Car Park for ages and only their complexity put me off, though eventually I couldn't resist the challenge.

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 lovely church lies on the opposite bank of the River Wear to Durham Cathedral which can be viewed from this spot during winter months.

St Oswalds Durham City
Watercolour
Size: ...
» More Info

I was fascinated by this giant mechanism during a trip up the Thames in 2019.

The Thames Barrier
Watercolour
Size: 290mm x 210mm
» More Info