A former Cistercian Abbey near the market town of Helmsley, Rievaulx was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538. It's picturesque ruins are now a regional tourist attraction. The magnificent castle and Cathedral dominate the skyline above the river on a bitterly cold winters day. The entrance to the castle on a bright autumn afternoon. A homàge to Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Wedding Feast, this painting is loosely based upon the National Trust's Stourhead Estate in Wiltshire. 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 centerpiece of this beautiful square is this fountain built in 1368 by Cansigorio della Scala, which is surmounted by a statue called Madonna Verona. The statue is in fact Roman dating to 380 AD. The entrance to The Castle under a fresh covering of snow The Basilica of St Mary of Health (Italian: Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute), commonly known as the Salute, is a minor basilica which stands on a narrow finger of land between the Grand Canal and the Bacino di San Marco making the church visible from the Piazza San Marco.The church was designed in the then fashionable baroque style by Baldassare Longhena, and construction began in 1631.The dome of the Salute was an important addition to the Venice skyline and soon became emblematic of the city, inspiring artists like Canaletto, J. M. W. Turner and John Singer Sargent. The magnificent early 18thc classical interior of the Great Hall, The Queen's College Oxford. A meeting place for locals, tourists and bikers alike, the square which is surrounded with a pleasing mix of architectural styles, is the hub of this thriving Swaledale market town. The most picturesque route between the centre of Historic Bath and the nearby district of Batheaston, can be enjoyed via the River Avon and this little water taxi. 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. Bow Lane is reputed to be the route that William the Conqueror took when leaving the city after visiting the coffin of Saint Cuthbert in Durham Cathedral. At that time it lead down to a ford across the River Wear, but now leads to Kingsgate Bridge, a superbly elegant concrete structure designed by Ove Arup and completed in 1963. Founded by Elizabeth the First in 1571 for the education of the clergy, the College alumni include T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and twice British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson . This commissioned painting was produced to commemorate the passing of a Durham man who's ashes were deposited in the river in 2019.

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

Commissioned to celebrate the retirement of a close friend, the magnificent Rose Window with Dun Cow Lane in the middle distance.

Durham Cathedral Rose Window and Dun Cow Lane
Watercolour
Size:
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Used primarily as a venue for special occassions associated with Durham University and as student accommodation, it is known to students simply as Castle.

Durham Castle (watercolour and ink)
Sepia watercolour over black ink.
Size: 400 x 220 mm.
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