Short summary of Durham Castle 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. I loved the almost abstact quality of the domes in this view. However, we certainly didn't enjoy the long and vertiginous hike from the port to see! them! A scene reminiscent of Jan Bruegel's famous Hunters in The Snow. One of my all time favourite paintings. I was fascinated by this giant mechanism during a trip up the Thames in 2019. Opened in 1966 the Grade 1 listed structure designed by Sir Ove Arup, links the historic peninsular to Dunelm House on Old Elvet. Sheep take shelter on this coastal County Durham farm. The River Wear slides slowly bye rowing club pontoons whilst wood smoke curls upwards from burning logs. The medieval Elvet bridge built in 1160 by Bishop Hugh de Puiset. One of 3 new works for 2021 depicting this villa most famous for the A list celebrities who have visited it over many years. These include Winston Churchill, Greta Garbo and T S Eliot. However, my wife and I traveled there on the strength of seeing the villa depicted on The Trip to Italy with comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon. The ancient water tower is in the foreground with the arched entrance to the Choristers School behind. I've always loved the view up Owengate with The Cathedral in the distance and as such have been drawn to paint it on a number of occasions. Most observers don't even notice the tree near to the junction with North Bailey and Saddler Street but I see it as almost a curtain pulled aside to reveal the view beyond.

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 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.

The Count's House, Durham Riverside
watercolour
Size:
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I wanted to paint this view of Elvet bridge from Prince Bishop's Car Park for ages and only it's complexity put me off, though eventually I couldn't resist the challenge.

Elvet Bridge from Prince Bishop's Carpark
Watercolour
Size: 370 x 290mm
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