Friday, 19 August 2011

Ruin with a view

Following on from the recent sketches I did, and also from the reference photographs I took, whilst on holiday in Dorset, here is another BIG oil painting of a very beautiful place. Corfe Castle was originally built during the reign of William 1, shortly after the Norman Conquest, but most of what can be seen today is from the reigns of later kings. Rather than go the way of many castles and just fall into disrepair, it was in fact victim of a previous period of unrest in british history and so is perhaps an apposite choice given the recent happenings here in the UK.

The castle was actually demolished by Cromwell's engineers, but not completely thankfully, in 1646  after it was taken from the Royalists following a long siege by the Parliamentarians. I'm a bit of a Cromwell fan, mainly out of pride for his local roots here in Huntingdon, but this bit of history came as a bit of a shock to me. Thank goodness his men did not raze it to the ground.

The view here is from what I think is called the inner bailey (a good name for this post perhaps lol). It shows the inner motte/mound and the ruins of the keep, some of the remaining inner battlements and an inner gatehouse. All of this sits atop a much bigger motte/mound, surrounded by a massive outer bailey and the main battlements, and lies in a natural dip in the Purbeck Hills. The picturesque village of Corfe Castle, also famous for its more peaceful connections with Enid Blyton, lies in and around the dip and along the roads which climb the hill to the South of the castle. The view from the top, within the keep itself, is absolutely beautiful, looking down on the village in one direction and across the Purbeck hills to Poole Harbour in another. They certainly knew a lot about the importance of 'location, location, location' a thousand years ago!

Happy painting and drawing to you all.


Corfe Castle, oil on canvas, 12" x 16"

And for those who would like to see a little more of the area, albeit in a virtual way, here is the view as you approach the castle from the South, courtesy of Ye Olde Google Maps.



View Larger Map

Posted by at 11:26
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22 comments:

  1. Pat19 August 2011 at 11:29

    Love the painting of Corfe - and thanks for the background history. It does make a painting feel more set in time!

    If I may, I might be tempted to make one small change - more blue sky (no clouds) through the wreck of the window.
    But that's tiny - and only my preference - its really very good as it is xx

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  2. Judy19 August 2011 at 11:36

    Wonderful painting, Michael, and love the history of it!
    We visited lots of castles and ruins in the UK when my son was little. I'm always admiring the way you British appreciate your history. Here in Holland we would have cleared the area a long time ago and did something "useful" with the space...

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  3. Unknown19 August 2011 at 11:49

    Hi Pat and thank you for tearing yourself away from all that kitchen stroking long enough to make such lovely comments! This one has gone in the drying queue (the conservatory wall) at the moment but I do agree about the sky openings being just blue. I may add a couple of figures to give some reference dimensions too.

    Hi Judy and thank you for your lovely comments. LOL, I suppose if we had a bit less land we would have made better use of it too. Less car parks and out-of-town shopping experiences would be then first to go - but that's just me being a grumpy cyclist/pedestrian!

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  4. SharonWrightArtist19 August 2011 at 12:19

    Magnificent painting! And the history lesson very enjoyable too.

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  5. Unknown19 August 2011 at 12:39

    Thank you very much indeed, Sharon. Super comments for someone that was advised, or more accurately, TOLD to drop art and history 'O' level. Not that I'm bitter, lol!

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  6. jsicignano2.blogspot.com19 August 2011 at 12:52

    Hi Michael, another brilliant painting from you. Love the photo and history of where you painted. Thank you for sharing.

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  7. Unknown19 August 2011 at 13:16

    Hi Joan and thank you ever so much for your lovely comments. Thank you for stopping by!

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  8. Sandra Busby19 August 2011 at 16:05

    This is lovely Michael! Such a lovely place to visit and to paint. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip :0)

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  9. Unknown19 August 2011 at 16:13

    Hi Sandra! Thank you for your lovely comments. It's a very beautiful part of England and well worth a visit - we just keep going back :O)

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  10. Lisa Le Quelenec19 August 2011 at 17:27

    When your painting popped up on my dashboard as a small icon it was instantly recogniseable! I like the viewpoint that you chose, it really gives a sense of the imposing size when you stand at the bottom. It must have been magnificent in it's time. Have a great weekend.

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  11. Unknown19 August 2011 at 17:43

    Thank you very much, Lisa. I'm pleased that it was recognisable to a current day Dorsetian! Yes, it really must have been a truly impressive castle in its time. It was worth the National Trust membership fee to see Corfe Castle alone, well that, Brownsea Island and the free parking at Studland beaches anyway!

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  12. Lisa Le Quelenec19 August 2011 at 18:29

    Lol, it was the parking when we spent so much time in Cornwall that turned us into National Trust members too.

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  13. Anonymous19 August 2011 at 19:31

    This is a lovely painting Michael and a beautiful and a beautiful environment.

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  14. Unknown19 August 2011 at 23:27

    Lisa - lol, we're not meanies but we did think eight quid a day to go the beach was a bit steep so now we take it in turns to get the windscreen sticker each year ;)

    Renske - thank you very much for your comments. Yes, it is a beautiful environment :)

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  15. John (JWJarts)20 August 2011 at 11:37

    Another lovely painting Michael and I recognised as soon as I saw it.

    Since I'm now semi-retired I bought both National Trust and English Heritage memberships this year. A month later my wife had her accident and we haven't been able to take advantage of them once. The accountant in me is still trying to come to terms with it. LOL

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  16. Unknown20 August 2011 at 12:01

    Hi John, pleased that you not only like it but recognise it too :) We don't have many NT places nearby so we would struggle to recoup the cost of two memberships. There I go, acting like an accountant but really I'm an engineer - penny-wise and pound foolish, lol.

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  17. Barbra Joan20 August 2011 at 15:04

    Hi Michael, love the feeling the painting gives to the viewer, especially one like me who has never travelled to any of the places you paint... Thanks for sharing to a 'houseplant " like me .! lol BJ

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  18. Victor Errington20 August 2011 at 16:34

    Hi Michael.
    What a powerful lovely painting. No mistaking Corfe Castle mate. Well done and all the best Michael.
    Vic.

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  19. Unknown20 August 2011 at 19:55

    Hi BJ. Thank you very much for your lovely comments. LOL, you're not a houseplant at all - although you do a mean flower painting ;) I'm sure you have seen a lot of the world that I have yet to discover :)

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  20. Unknown20 August 2011 at 19:57

    Hi Vic. Thank you very much for your lovely comments my friend. I'm glad you recognised it too! All the best, Michael

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  21. Roger Seddon21 August 2011 at 20:50

    Strong composition, The sky is too blue for my liking and the clouds are not as convincing as they could be. Don't stop your cloud forms short of the edge of the canvas or central feature. Let them glide in from the sides and flow through the painting uninterrupted.You need to either darken the foreground tone or lighten the castle mound to increase the effect of depth and ariel perspective. Otherwise a great step forward and it is nice to see such progress.

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  22. Unknown21 August 2011 at 21:27

    Hi Roger. Thank you very much for stopping by and leaving these very helpful comments; I really do appreciate your suggestions for taking this a step further. I have to admit I knew this was a couple of hours short of being finished, but as usual my impatience to post got the better of me! It's up on the studio wall, next to the Brownsea Island one. It's drying now and hopefully I will get time to look at it again next weekend :)

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