Paint Out Norfolk 2020 – Day 5 (Burgh Castle)

Posted on 20 July, 2020 by Susan Isaac

My Sat Nav took me on a merry dance this morning, taking me over several rather daunting self-service level crossings and down a very long and unlikely single-track concrete road but, eventually, with the additional aid of an out-of-date OS map, I arrived at the most extraordinary site of the ‘Saxon Shore’ Roman fort remains at Burgh Castle.

Susan Isaac - Burgh CastleThe consistency and scale of the monumental flint & tile construction was unexpected and it certainly took a bit of time to develop a feel for the place and how to respond to it. I walked around the inner and outer areas of the enormous rectangular structure, struggling to find an obvious composition. Continue reading →

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Paint Out Norfolk 2020 – Day 4 (Cromer)

Posted on 20 July, 2020 by Susan Isaac

Susan Isaac - Cromer set upThe weather forecast for Sunday (19 July) was unpromising but we were bidden to various parts of the coast regardless. I chose Cromer, arriving in inclement conditions, donning wet weather clothing and set off around the town to find an inspiring and sheltered location. However, the local fishermen foretold of fine weather and they were quite right and I soon found that the biggest obstacle to overcome wasn’t the weather, but being overwhelmed by the possibilities of what to paint. I’d arrived early enough to walk the course, but no sooner had I seen a spectacular view than I saw another. In the end I chose to reduce the main subject down to the scale of a pebble and, having burrowed down in a defensible space on the shingled beach, I began making sketches with the pier as a backdrop to the beach itself. Continue reading →

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Paint Out Norfolk 2020 – Day 3 (Norwich)

Posted on 18 July, 2020 by Susan Isaac

Susan Isaac - Norwich set upToday’s cluster of Paint Out Norfolk locations were the ‘green spaces’ of the county town – I arrived in Norwich a little later than planned and headed for the Cathedral Quarter, knowing I’d find something of architectural interest. I settled eventually on the green of the Cathedral Close, which has enough beauty in its own right, but rising behind the fine Georgian housing is the spire of the cathedral itself.

I decided on a composition which made use of a Victorian style street lamp to emphasise the series of vertical elements of the subject matter. The lighting was pretty steady over the course of the afternoon as I built my sketch and modulated the paint. I’m always surprised and excited at how visceral the process of ‘sculpting’ a painting can be. Even a seemingly straightforward view can’t be taken for granted. That process can demand such a lot of effort, sometimes to a point of exhaustion! Continue reading →

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Paint Out Norfolk 2020 – Day 2 (Winterton-on-Sea)

Posted on 17 July, 2020 by Susan Isaac

Today we journeyed east (from Norwich) and found ourselves amongst the sand dunes and marram grass of Winterton on Sea. I arrived early, before the beach car park opened for business and (parking temporarily in the village) set off to walked about the dunes noting possible areas for consideration. After a time the beach car park opened and was quickly filling up, so I broke off and moved the car there before resuming my search.

Winterton-on-SeaI was on something of a quest for the war time tank traps, imagining that they would make some interest and contrasting hard edged features amongst the softness of the abundant drifts of silica. As luck would have it there was a pair of these unassuming concrete blocks in the car park. The concrete was peppered with local flint pebbles which gave the surface a beautiful bejewelled appearance. They also neatly edged a view of the cliff profile to the north end and the beach spit as it was revealed by the outgoing tide. Continue reading →

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Paint Out Norfolk 2020 – Day 1 (Surlingham)

Posted on 16 July, 2020 by Susan Isaac

I’m taking part in Paint Out Norfolk again. We arrived on site today at Whitlingham Country Park  for a 9.00am socially distancing meeting in the open air. Old acquaintances were warmly met and new participants greeted. New Covid 19 dictated rules and niceties needed to be established in order to make this a comfortable and successful event. And then we set off in the loose direction of villages along the river system to the south east of Norwich. As the first day, this was intended to have a gentle breaking in feel to it. There was, after all, some socially distanced socialising to catch up on as well as reminding oneself of the pitfalls and practicalities of a ‘wild paint’.

Susan Isaac - St Marys Church SurlinghamOf the destinations proffered, I opted for Surlingham as I knew it to have some interesting historic buildings with vernacular flint facing. I was pleased to find the graveyard of the church of St Mary’s both sheltered and deserted and set up my pitch. I wanted a full view of the distinctive Norman round tower, with its slightly ‘make do and mend’ appearance – brick patched openings and buttresses. I also wanted to include a rather fine Victorian tomb in the foreground – the dark weighty squareness and twisted iron railings seemed at odds with simple informality of the tower. It was an overcast day but there was a brightness in the sky that I also hoped to convey. This light remained pretty constant for the duration of the painting.

After 3 or so hours I felt I had said what I wanted in the painting and packed my bags to return it to the venue at Whitlingham and log it in with the organisers to become part of the event exhibition.

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Upton Virtual Studios: 30-31 May, 2020

Posted on 10 June, 2020 by Susan Isaac

2020 is proving a difficult year for everyone! For artists such as me, with art galleries closed and arts events cancelled because of the covid-19 pandemic, there has been a huge effect on the showing and selling of art work.

Susan Isaac - studioOne thing you can see is my virtual open studio created as part of Open Studios Notts 2020. This takes place every May and early June but all of the physical events were cancelled. However, the Open Studios Notts team promoted a series of virtual events instead. For the Upton Studios, which we had planned for the weekend of 30-31 May, each of the three host artists (including myself) created video guides to their studios. We also commissioned a short animated trail guide by Beth Adams and were interviewed about our work by Evie Hoggard, of Radio Newark. Continue reading →

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Painting in the Orchard

Posted on 8 April, 2020 by Susan Isaac

I have been neglecting this blog for too long, partly preoccupied with other things and partly using other media (particularly my instagram feed). However, I like the calmer feel of  blog and I shall endeavour to do more again.

With the Coronavirus lockdown in place this last few weeks I have found myself spending a lot of time painting outside, very lucky to have access to an old orchard and neighbouring fields. I’m also fortunate to have my family around me – my eldest daughter Elsa (heavily pregnant and with time on her hands for the moment) made this short video of me painting in the orchard on monday (observed by her sister, Mair). I hope it gives some idea of the process of creating a small en plein air study (in acrylic on a 9″x12″ canvas) in preparation for a fuller painting. The snippets of birdsong were captured whilst I was working – now that the surrounding roads are almost empty, the sound of these creatures is suddenly exquisitely clear.

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Paint Out Norfolk 2019

Posted on 8 July, 2019 by Susan Isaac

This is my account of Paint Out Norfolk (Sainsbury Centre) 2019, which ran from 1-5 July, with the exhibition private view and prize giving held on 5 July, and the exhibition running from 6-7 July, 2019.

Monday (1 July) – Norwich

My first painting for Paint Out Norfolk 2019 was completed at the opening session in Norwich on Monday evening – looking across the River Wensum beside Bishop Bridge towards the spire of Norwich Cathedral (with the Red Lion pub close by on Bishopgate).

I had driven down through the afternoon from my home near Newark-on-Trent in Nottinghamshire to join this first session. Having got lost a few times en route, and then needing to check in with my landlady, I arrived a little late and a little flustered to join a becalmed sea of painters.  I settled myself after a while, conscious that time would be short. All too soon the other artists were packing away to adjourn to a nearby pub, there to eat, relax and catch up. Paint Out founder James Colman now appeared at my shoulder and, probably recognising my look of worry, suggested working for another half hour and then calling it a day. With everyone gone I gathered my thoughts, made a few quick decisions and put down some strategic marks to complete the painting. Continue reading →

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Smaller Pieces

Posted on 16 November, 2018 by Susan Isaac

I have been working on some smaller compositions this Autumn. Compressing my method of work has been a challenging but useful process for making spontaneous plein air works. Some of these smaller pieces will be at my open studio this Sunday 18 Nov and others are part of the ‘The Great Little Picture Show’ at the Dovecot Gallery in Styrrup from 17 November to 16 December.

These three paintings of Lincoln are all in oil, painted on board measuring 12″ (30cm) square and are in the Dovecot Gallery:

These views of Upton and Newark and the still life will be in my open studio on Sunday:

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Paint Out Norwich 2018 – Days 3, 4 & 5

Posted on 30 October, 2018 by Susan Isaac

Mon 15 Oct – Anglia Square

This day’s theme was ‘modernising’ and, after being thoroughly spoiled with the Medieval beauty of the city in the days before, I was curious to see this somewhat controversial area of Norwich – a Neo Brutalist 1970s development anxiously awaiting yet another makeover.

Susan Isaac - under the flyover Anglia Square On the southern edge of the Square, a flyover had been flung over a nearby neighbourhood of homes and shops, some of which had the hallmarks of a pre-industrial era. Here, where the prettiness of the city had dwindled, the margins with makeshift car parks (the ‘spaces in between’) give a sense of being off limits. I was glad to see a couple of PON18 Instagram 15-10-2018other painters soon joining me, making use of the flyover to keep out of the rain. Looking across Magdalen Street, there was a welcome simplicity to the available elements here, after the abundance of historical information elsewhere. What was left of the human-sized vernacular houses were oddly juxtaposed with the monumental brutality of the concrete flyover underside and the rough gravel beneath it. Continue reading →

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