An icy but brilliantly sunny winter day was perfect for wandering between the beached fishing boats at Hastings last weekend. Who could imagine the whole scene would be quite so lusciously visual.
The low sunlight lit everything magically, making the colours intense and mouth-watering.
Fishing at Hastings (on the south coast of England) is still carried out according to the very oldest tradition - that is, as there's no harbour the boats are simply hauled up on to the beach. In recent years this has been done by a mechanical winch but before that it took quite a few fishermen to drag these heavy little boats up the steep pebbly beach.
Ofcourse I'm always just looking for sculpture wherever I go and this globe shape is one of my most favourite elemental forms - along with the cube and pyramid.
The perfect rounds and simplicity of the buoys is in wonderful contrast to the colours and textures of the workaday equipment and materials the boats are made of. The coloured buoys really did look exquisite glowing like giant balloons at a children's party in the sunlight.
Fishing boats like these which are all individually owned and are full of character.
There's a bit of a pirate vibe about these black flag markers I think.
This is one of my favourite shots - I love how the globe rests so perfectly and placidly among the detritus and how the red paint-work on the boat reveals earlier coats of pink. I'm really an abstract girl at heart so can't resist searching for the ultimate abstract composition in environments like this!
Nestling at the foot of the steep cliff which rises from the beach. Such a cacophony of colour and pattern.
They could be hot air balloons!
It's great how the fisherman fashion their marker-buoy flags from any old material - obviously not aware that at the same time they're creating a visual symphony of colour and texture!
This shows how the fishing beach is directly in front of the town and cliffs. The black wooden buildings are the FANTASTIC old net huts (they hung the nets in them to dry) which have been there for centuries.
A wonderfully satisfying 'boat' shape.
The thing is, everywhere you look is a visual overload - I reckon there's enough visual information to provide inspiration for every artist in southern England. So many starting points and juxtapositions of pattern, colour, texture and form.
I've finally realized what the pink buoys remind me of - someone blowing bubblegum! They really do look surreal in the environment.
Thank you Hastings fisherman for providing us with so much delectable eye-candy!
Inspiration for a midlands artist too, I pick NN200 as top of my wants list and Hastings as the place I must visit, perhaps on the way to Dungeness to follow my rusty iron addiction!!
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