Stephen Bradbury
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Art / Paintings / Illustration / Facets / Voids/ Colour Series
Stephen Bradbury.Artist
Blog
STORMY WEATHER - Mullion. Cornwall
| Posted on 14 January, 2020 at 13:17 |
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 Cornwall is being battered by storms at the moment. But, one of the joys of owning a dog , is that, whatever the weather, they need taking out for a walk. So, this morning, I braved the wind and rain and took my Border Collie, Rose, out along the cliffs, from Poldhu Cove to Polurrian.  I got absolutely drenched. However, I was thrilled to see a flock of about, 22 Oyster Catchers on Poldhu beach. They are my absolute, favourite birds. I always get a thrill from seeing them and hearing their distinctive calls. Walking along the cliff path, I met a lady walking her dog. We both agreed that we were both mad going out in the awful weather, but our dogs had to be exercised, whatever, nature threw at us ! As I'm writing this I can hear the sea from my house. It sounds really violent and noisy. This has to be one of the wettest winters I can remember.  Here is the reason for me braving the very wet, stormy weather. This is Rose. She is a 'Red and White' Border Collie. True to the breed, which are working dogs, she needs a lot of exercise. She's very devoted, and a great companion in the garden, where I spend so much time. Border Collies have a double coat, so the wet weather has no effect on her. She literally shrugs it off. I had a double coat on today, but it didn't do me much good ! Take care, keep dry Stephen |
HAPPY NEW YEAR - 2020
| Posted on 7 January, 2020 at 17:30 |
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A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL. Here in the U.K. and around the World After a period of reflection, exhaustion, disappointment, and a self-imposed holiday from being super-creative, it's time for me to start producing art again. Sometimes we need to take a step back, look at what we've done , achieved, not achieved, even, totally failed at and regroup, seek a new direction, a new start. Sometimes, new technologies give us a chance to try something new ! And this year, I'll be trying some out ! As you become old, you have to make a conscious decision as to how you use the time you have left. Ask yourself, whether there are some ideas or projects that need re-visiting, finishing, or maybe, started, at last. When you are young, you have such energy and ambitions, the older you get, you have to make more of an effort and pace yourself. It's a fact ! I've literally spent the last few years on a gardening break. Virtually, everyday, out there with my Border Collie dog, Rose, creating a place to walk, relax and escape to. With 1 acre of garden to manage and create, I've directed my artistic talents towards it ! But , in many ways, it's been a very selfish concept, an excuse to not do what I should be doing. A complete distraction ! Art should be sent out in to the World and shared. Art, painting, music, etc , whether it's good or bad, seen by a few people or many, needs to be out there, and if it only inspires just one person on this planet, then , it has been well worth it. Today is my birthday. I have had a lot of thoughts going through my head today about what to try and achieve before the next one ! So the first step, I decided was to start the blog again. And here we are. Nice to be back. I went down to the Lizard Point, near where I live. On this special day, I decided to go to where I scattered the ashes of both of my parents, Bill and Doreen, and pay my respects. It was very foggy and thick sea mist. Couldn't see a thing. The Lizard Lighthouse fog horn was blasting away. However, it may be Winter, but here in Cornwall, the first signs of new life and Spring are starting to emerge.  These flowers were in the hedge on the way down to the Lizard Point today. It's been really wet and stormy weather, here in Cornwall, this Winter, but the temperatures are mainly, quite mild.  Daffodils are being picked in the fields now. These are the first that I've seen for sale. A fantastic bargain, for 60p They'll be appearing in shops and supermarkets around the country soon.   I bought some, placed them in a jar. A sign of the Spring to come. A reminder to myself that new life can be found, even in the times that our lives can sometimes seem to be surrounded by a deep, dark, thickening fog. A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL Take care Stephen |
STEPHEN BRADBURY BLOG is hopefully back again !
| Posted on 26 March, 2018 at 10:28 |
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 Hello everyone. Like this chap in my picture, I'm trying to post something ! I've complained to my website provider again, about the Blog not working ! Let's hope this one works ! If it does, I will, literally , keep you posted ! Stephen |
SNOW has come ! Mullion Cove. Cornwall
| Posted on 28 February, 2018 at 17:15 |
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 This was Mullion Cove, this afternoon. It started snowing about 9 o'clock this morning. We also, had thunder snow, which was quite scary ! And extremely loud ! The wind is howling outside at the moment and the temperature is 24 F. Tomorrow is apparently going to get worse ! But by the weekend it is going to get mild again and rain. Which is more normal weather, for down here on the Lizard Peninsula. However, just to show how the weather can change dramatically here ..........................................................   YESTERDAY TODAY   YESTERDAY TODAY Isn't that amazing ! The difference a day makes ! It took an effort to trek to the cove through the snow to photograph it, but I couldn't resist the idea of showing before and after pictures of the same view. Also, in the 30 years I've lived here, it's never been this bad. Mullion Cove in the snow photographs are quite rare.  Odd to see the sea so still. It had this amazing bluey , green colour. If you've got an iPad or iPhone, you can download the CornishCams app from the App Store. It has a live feed cam from Mullion Cove and other Cornish harbours and coves.It's free. You can look at Mullion Cove anytime of the day from the comfort of your home, wherever you live in the World. I check what's happening at Mullion Cove every morning, using the app. The rest of the U.K. is covered in snow too. So, wherever you are, keep warm and safe. Stephen |
The calm before the storm ! Mullion Cove. Cornwall.
| Posted on 27 February, 2018 at 18:04 |
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 Looks can be deceptive ! This was Mullion Cove today, about 10 o'clock, this morning. A bitterly cold morning. So far, we've escaped cold weather and snow, this Winter and as I said before in my last blog, it's just been mild, and rained and rained and rained ! However, the temperatures went below zero today. My pond froze for the first time and the forecast doesn't look good for tomorrow and Thursday. They've gritted the roads. I've got fleece around my sub-tropical plants. Snow may be coming ! Looking at these photos of the cliffs at Mullion today, the Sun is shining, not a cloud in sight and it looks glorious. The rest of the U.K. is covered in snow and there's chaos with dreadful, disruption to road and rail travel. But it looks like we are in for it too ! The forecast isn't good.  The sea looks so still. Not a wave to be seen ! The hill in the distance that looks like a mini volcano is Tregonning Hill. If you climb to the top of it you can see right around Cornwall.  It's now nighttime and I've just checked , and outside, at the moment it's 27 F. It's gone below freezing, but hopefully won't stay as low as that too long, The Echiums and other tender plants in the garden will be hit hard and killed if it lasts too long. The weather forecast for the end of the week here, is a return to mild wet weather. Anyway, if it snows, I'll take some photos and post them on the blog ! For now, keep warm and take care Stephen |
Stephen Bradbury Blog is back !
| Posted on 20 February, 2018 at 18:46 |
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 It's been a while, but, at last, the blog is useable again ! Last Autumn, my website provider, suddenly announced to me that they were having technical problems providing the blog page on whatever platform this website is based. It now seems to have been solved and so, here I am ! Firstly, once again, let me say thank you to all of you around the World who look at the site. I hope you enjoy it. And, I hope you will now, continue to enjoy the blog again. As you know, my father died last August. It's been an odd , strange time, since then. Hard to explain. Here in Cornwall, it hasn't stopped raining , all Winter !..........................that is ! ..................until today ! And hey presto, here's Mullion Cove today ! The Sun actually came out and said hello !  It's rained so much, that the land at the side of the harbour has slipped and you can't walk along the harbour wall anymore. The National Trust has fenced it off. The headland just above the harbour, in the picture above has become unstable. My garden is a quagmire. I'm hoping to start getting back to work in it soon, when it dries out a bit. But Spring is coming and once again it's Daffodil picking time again. I stopped at the local shop on the way back from the cove and bought a couple of bunches.   They say, time goes faster as you get get older ! Hard to believe a year has gone since my blog last year showing the Daffodils for sale outside the local shop. It's been a blur ! Anyway, The Lizard, Cornwall in Winter tends to be mild, hardly gets below freezing but is wet, windy and never stops raining. I know lots of people around the World love Cornwall and I hope to carry on, giving you some glimpses of the places and elements that make Cornwall, such a special place, in blogs to come. For now though, take care and see you soon. Stephen  |
WILLIAM BRADBURY . My Father.
| Posted on 25 August, 2017 at 12:30 |
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 WILLIAM BRADBURY 1932 - 2017 R.I.P. My Father  Peace finally came His light still shines and my memories, of him, will remain, forever cherished My Dad ..................... Bill With Love Stephen |
In a Cornish Garden. Summer - Gladiolus Byzantinus
| Posted on 8 June, 2017 at 6:26 |
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 My house and garden were owned by the same family for generations, before I bought it. The house is over 400years old. I don.t know how old the garden is. It was pretty derelict and mainly grass, brambles, bracken and weeds, no trees and exposed to the Westerly winds blowing in from the sea. Poldhu Cove is just over the hill from the garden. In the old days the land in the garden had to sustain the family that lived here. But in the years before I moved in , it had become very neglected. There were some pig sheds and an old dunny (outdoor toilet). At the beginning of the 20th Century, they grew Anemones to send to London. When I first moved in here, Anemones would pop up here and there ! A relic from the past life of the garden. I've just planted hundreds of Anemones, to bring back the tradition of growing them ! Some of the old apple trees, that are over a hundred years old are still going strong and produce fruit.   Anyway, what I did inherit in the garden was a naturalised colony of Gladiolus Byzantinus, commonly known as 'JACKS', here in this part of Cornwall. They've been here a long, long, time. There are hundreds of them. They are very hardy and spread freely from cormlets. They are truly wonderful ! They think they originally came from Spain and Italy (Sicily).  The whole end corner of the garden was full of them, when I moved in. I had to dig some of them up and move them - ( which they quite happily do - The corms are quite deeply down in the ground), when I dug out the large pond. I dug the pond by hand ! It took me a long time ! ..... years ! My poor old dog used to patiently sit at the edge of the huge hole I was digging, waiting for me to finish for the day, and anyone who came down to the garden would only see my head ! The soil from the pond was moved to the far corner and became a man-made hill. Which I called Silbury Hill . My theory is that the ancient man-made , Silbury Hill at Avebury in Wiltshire is the result of digging a pond somewhere ! The Jacks (Gladiolus) that were moved, naturally colonised, as you can see from the photos and from May to June give a spectacular show.   Meanwhile the Aeoniums are multiplying. I leave them out all Winter here. They are very easy to propagate. You just break off one of the rosettes, leave it 24 hours for the end of the stem to dry off, so it doesn't rot when you put it into a pot with good mixture of soil and horticultural grit.  A new thing I've introduced to the formal part of the garden, is some wooden obelisks. Painted in Farrow and Ball , Studio Green. They are about 2 metres tall and on each side I've planted different Clematis. Mainly Class 2. Each Clematis flowers at a slightly different time. So the obelisk will always have flowers through the Summer. You can order Gladiolus Byzantinus from plant growers online. Give them a try ! I'll blog again soon Stephen |
MANCHESTER bombing
| Posted on 23 May, 2017 at 3:54 |
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    Last night 22 people were killed and 59 people injured by a suicide bomber in Manchester. Thousands of young people had gone to see an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena. As a teenager, I used to go to lots of concerts in Manchester. A bomber has turned what should have been a happy event for these innocent, young people into an awful nightmare. My heart goes out to all who have been affected by this dreadful, cowardly, act of terrorism. As a person, who was born and brought up and raised as a child in Manchester. A Mancunian ! I can only offer my solidarity with the people of Manchester., on this unhappy, very sad day. Stephen |
BLUEBELLS at Godolphin. CORNWALL
| Posted on 4 May, 2017 at 5:02 |
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 Just thought I'd give a quick mention and show some pictures of the Bluebell festival at Godolphin. I know lots of you around the World follow the blog because of the Cornwall aspects and elements. Also, if any of you get a chance to go and see the bluebells at Godolphin, you won't be disappointed. The intense blue and scale of the amount of bluebells within the woods at Godolphin is astounding.......and very hard to capture on photos !   Every year I go to look at them and every year I come away pleased . The other place to visit,which really is spectacular for bluebells is Enys at Penryn. You look across a massive sea of blue to the far horizon. Millions of bluebells !    The Godolphin House and estate began life in Medieval times and the Medieval garden can still be seen. In later years the Godolphin family made their wealth from tin mining. Evidence of this can be seen if you walk up to Godolphin Hill. Work is currently being done to restore the gardens. You can visit the gardener's potting shed for more info. Here are some pics of Godolphin House.     Do go and visit the bluebells at Godolphin. You won't be disappointed. Finally, here's a glimpse of Enys at Penryn, near Falmouth , Cornwall. It's pretty spectacular !  Hope you are enjoying Spring, wherever you are in the World. Take care Stephen |
