Paintings and Prints of the East Anglian Coast
So at the end of another day of Suffolk Open Studios and it is time for sketching and as it is raining it will be this cuttlefish bone that I collected during the early spring. The Cuttlebone is the internal structure of the cuttlefish and is interesting as it is neither a bone or belongs to a fish instead it belongs to a Cephalapod.
Sitting on a spit that juts out into the River Alde is the church of St Botolph at Iken. It is believed that a church has sat on this site for over 1300 years. A footpath close to Iken church allows you to walk along the shore line to Snape Maltings this view being from that footpath.
After a very rainy morning it was off to Minsmere to monitor the Bitterns. We all arrived in Bittern hide in the pouring rain and were instantly rewarded with a male and female Bittern sitting quite close in the reeds. And thank goodness as the rest of the wildlife was hunkered down. Eventually the rain past and it sprang to life, not only did the Bitterns keep showing well but the Marsh Harriers were close by and entertained us with some food passes. As it warmed we were blessed with some excellent views of a Hobby whilst a Red Deer doe came slowly up the path feeding. Then rather fortunately we noticed ripples and a stream of air bubbles as an Otter came swimming up the dyke surfacing to give an brief but exquisite view before turning back and swimming the other. Not to be outdone a Kingfisher came to rest on a nearby perch staying for an incredibly long time. Eventually the sun came out and what a morning. Time for a sketch before heading home only to stumble across 4 or 5 kit Stoats which spent 10 minutes frolicking in the middle of a country lane, WOW.
Having lived in Suffolk all my life I thought I ought to visit Sutton Hoo near Woodbridge. Sutton Hoo is the site of great importance with Anglo Saxon burial mounds from the 6th and 7th centuries. One of the mounds contained an undisturbed ship burial including great wealth of Anglo Saxon artifacts an impressive discovery. However the site is also important for the cemetery of numerous burial mounds that overlook the important River Deben and the North Sea. Today was quite dull so where I had planned to draw the mounds they were today without the sun appearing a little flat in the landscape so instead I drew from within the museum. In the museum are many reproduction replicas of some of the artifacts, the one I have chosen is a Whetstone Sceptre. Whilst whetstones were used to sharpen knives or swords this one hints towards it being an emblem of power with a finely carved Stag with antlers.
Walberswick beach huts are very distinctive from those across the river at Southwold which are brightly coloured. These beach huts are all black and sit a little behind the dunes to keep them tucked out of sight.
