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. Sheep take shelter on this coastal County Durham farm. The Avon water taxi stop at Batheaston Mill is a favoured spot for fly fishing. Described by the famous 18th century author Horace Walpole in a letter to George Montague, 'the Avon falling in a wide cascade' it is little changed. Iconic view of the West towers and Cathedral entrance. San Giorgio Maggiore the 16th century Benedictine Basilica is viewed from one of the numerous gondola stations serving tourists visiting Piazza San Marco. The church was designed by Andrea Palladio, and built between 1566 and 1610 in the classical renaissance style. This interesting bay window faces onto Palace Green. Stuart was shortlisted in the 2013 Sunday Times Watercolour Competition for this painting depicting a violent storm breaking over Cromer pier Norfolk. During the storm 'day became night' and Stuart and his wife Anne were soaked through to the skin in the deluge of rain. 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 homàge to Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Wedding Feast, this painting is loosely based upon the National Trust's Stourhead Estate in Wiltshire. This former palace, situated on the hill below Prague Castle, is now the Italian Embassy. The painting is one of two shortlisted in the 2016 Sunday Times Watercolour Competition. The Cathedral Central Tower can be seen behind the Church of St Mary's The Less which was founded in 1140 and was principally for the soldiers of the garrison which manned the city walls. 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 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 medieval Elvet bridge built in 1160 by Bishop Hugh de Puiset. 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

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.

On Owengate
Watercolour
Size: 435mm x 305mm
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The medieval Elvet bridge built in 1160 by Bishop Hugh de Puiset.

Elvet Bridge at dusk Durham City
watercolour
Size:
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