Discover the Wonderful North Norfolk Coast.

There's a part of the country that's out of the way. A part that lots of people never visit because it's not on the road to anywhere, no big towns, no ferries to far away places, not a place of magnificent cliffs and sweeping vistas, and it's somewhere you have to travel through vast tracts of flat terrain to reach, like some intrepid explorer.
But , oh, it is wonderful once you get there!

Photo: Mary Kemp
Hunstanton Cliffs at Sunset.

Being brought up in the Midlands I've been visiting North Norfolk all my life. We've had picnics on the sands at Hunstanton, eaten crab at Cromer and walked on the prom at Sherringham, not to mention seen the Queen going home from church as we navigated the windy roads near Sandringham.
Hunstanton or Brancaster in particular always seemed the default places to go for a day out, when you wanted familiarity, comfort and the feeling that childhood certainties still stand.

© Mary Kemp
"Life's a Beach!"
Find out more.

Hunstanton with it's fish and chips, buckets and spade and gawdy funfair, and Brancaster for miles of open sands with the sea in strips, and when you walk out to the water's edge you feel as though the world is so huge and you are so small and so very, very free.

© Mary Kemp
"Beach Huts at Wells-Next-The-Sea"
Find out more...

But don't take this as a plea to visit Norfolk. I don't want you to go. I feel it's mine, I like the unfashionableness of the parts I visit and the lack of bustle on every day of the year except a hot summer holiday or the first warm day of spring.
So don't discover Norfolk, you'll love it too much than is good for you. Be warned.

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Lovers on the Beach

This couple seem to have walked across my canvases many times, and have taken up a life of their own independent of reality.

© Mary Kemp
"Lovers on the Beach"
40 x 40 cm oil on canvas panel.

                              I like to explore their walks, and work out what they are thinking and talking about. Do they discuss important things, like the meaning of it all, can we truly love selflessly? Or do they just talk around the weather and the price of bread in Sainsburys?
I've not come to a definite conclusion yet.                                   
                                                                 
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Bittersweet Inspiration.

Dear Seaside Friends,

Today I'm sharing with you the bittersweet inspiration of my modern beach series of paintings called "Long Lost Days" and also the fact that I've created a whole new online Etsy shop to show them off.
I'm still running my other shop at full pelt, but I felt this series needed a whole shop to itself, especially as I seem to be adding to the series constantly.

This series comes from the fact that I  was sort of sad when my children grew up and left home. Not that I didn't want them to fly the nest. But, you know, no matter how much your brain tells you it's the way it should be and you've done a great job, your heart feels a little bit empty.

© Mary Kemp. Blustery Walk Before Tea"
I can see this very busy puppy on a mission to trip someone up!

Like most parents I'd been so busy battling through the everyday that I hadn't realised how precious  those days were until they were gone.
Now I realise that part of my life is behind me.
I still see my children and their families often but I am a bit player  instead of the main protagonist.

© Mary Kemp "Three Cousins"
I don't know where their parents were but they seemed OK....

And with that comes great benefits!
No more organising trips, making sure everyone is fed and watered, and worrying about inappropriate clothing. The buck no longer stops with me. My children are adults and their children are their responsibility. In fact if I play my cards right someone else might take on responsibility for me and make sure I have everything I need. (fat chance!)
But one of the great advantages of this state is that now I can truly observe life because I am no longer on duty.
When my children were little I ached to paint them, incorporate them into my paintings. Now it's my grandchildren who take their places, and some look so like their parents.
I've been painting this current series of paintings for about 2 years now, and it took me a while to realise that they were really scenes from the past, not the present day.
I suppose it is my way of adjusting to circumstances.

© Mary Kemp "Walking on Wet Sand"
I can see a lot of wet shoes and socks after this little adventure.

I called this series "Long Lost Days" but I think it's a bit maudlin so I have settled for "Modern Beach Paintings" for the time being.
The series has grown so much I've created a whole new shop for it on Etsy, and included some of the paintings as prints.
Here's the link!
And especially for you is a  discount code . Just type in SEASIDEFRIENDS at checkout for a 15% discount.

International Women's Day and Aunt Gladys

It's International Women's Day today, 8th March.

I remember that date particularly because it's the same date as my husband's Auntie Gladys's birthday. Whilst she claimed not to be  a "women's libber"she  sure stuck up for her rights in the times when you needed a man's signature just to get a  mortgage.
Gladys was a larger than life character who worked for the BBC as a continuity engineer, the only woman I knew back then who was called an engineer. But of course the main thing I remember about her was that she was kind and helped me greatly when my children were young.
So every time I think of strong women I think of Auntie Gladys.

5 Famous Snowy Paintings to Cheer Up Winter.

It's cold outside. Much too cold  to paint in my studio, even though it's heated, so I thought I would share these 5 snowy paintings. Just to cheer us up you understand.

Joseph Farquarson. "The Shortening Day" in Liverpool Art Gallery.
I must admit this was the first painting I thought of when deciding on snowy paintings.
Joseph Farquarson used to paint from a heated caravan  towed to where he'd decided was a good view point. And, as well, some of the sheep were models he'd made and stuck in the snow. 

Claude Monet "Haystacks. The Effect of Snow" in the Metropolitan Museum.
He painted this scene time and time again, in all sorts of weather and all lights.

Pieter Bruegel "Hunters in the Snow" in the Kunthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
This painting sends shivers down my spine.

JMW Turner "Valley of Aosta, Snowstorm, Avalanche and Thunderstorm" Chicago Museum.
You can always rely on Turner for a bit of atmospheric painting! See the figures in the right hand corner dwarfed by nature.

Camille Pissarro "Pont Neuf, the Effect of Snow" in the National Museum Cardiff.
I can imagine the snow being all slushy and wet. Ah well. that's how it ends.