Cycling around Britain with my paints
Cycling round Britain
Circumnavigating the country with my paints
I'm Inspired by events 200 years ago when a dictator was rampaging across Europe. Napoleons actions meant that artists such as Turner and Constable avoided Europe and decided to turn their attention to Britain and painted stunning landscapes of the island we call home.
I'm in the process of following in their tyre tracks on my bike with my paints, finding their inspiration and seeing how it brings out the artist in me.
Starting from Paddington Station, anonymously in crowd, I headed out to Dartford turned right and continued through Rochester, Margate and around Kent, Sussex, Hampshire and the whole of the South Coast.
My ride began on St Patrick's Day in March and I turned the corner of Land End after 18 days cycling.
On the way I've visited and painted the chalk cliffs of southern Britain, the cathedral cities of Rochester, Chichester and Portsmouth, and the coastal views of the hilly west country.
I'm 900 miles into a 4000 mile adventure over 3 months, Painting every day, cycling up to 45 miles every day and looking for somewhere to stay each night.
This ride is not supported, I am not pre booking my accommodation either as that makes each day about chasing the destination rather than experiencing the journey.
There are videos and a daily blog on all my social media links Instagram, Facebook, tik tok, twitter and Strava where the route is shown each day.
The paintings I create along the way are in acrylic and water colour. There are also sketch books for the pieces I will work up in my studio upon my return to family and home later in the summer.
JWM Turner painted Botany Bay, Kent 200 years ago. Here's my view today painted on the same spot