Scarborough Lighthouse (acrylic painting)

When I’m in Scarborough I go for a walk around the South Bay most mornings. I put a Minto sweet in my mouth and try to make it last until I’ve walked around the full bay and reached the lighthouse. I’ve tried other sweets but they only last till the arcades. I lodge the Minto sweet in my cheek and don’t suck it. I only allow myself to chew it upon reaching the Diving Belle statue that stands by the lighthouse.

I drove the motor home up to Scarborough in February this year (the hot water bottle was needed at night) and - with Minto in cheek - did the usual walk. On the beach I glanced at the lighthouse and thought it was about time I tried to paint it. It was built about two hundred years ago. Five months after World War One started Scarborough was bombed and approximately 500 shells were shot into the town. Eighteen residents were killed and many buildings were damaged. One shell clipped the tower of the lighthouse and tore a gaping hole through its centre. Another shell also damaged the harbour master’s quarters. The damage to the lighthouse tower was so severe it was pulled down three days after the bombing. Fifteen years later it was rebuilt and a foghorn was added (it was used as an air raid warning in World War Two.) On 5^th December 2013 a tidal wave swept over the harbour walls and the lighthouse stood like a beacon against adversity.

Here is the painting done with a knife. I brought some acrylics downstairs and started painting while watching a box set (This Life which was aired in the 1990s.) Progress was fast with pauses forced upon me when Alfie kept jumping onto my knee for a belly tickle. I finished it the following day, putting in some finer details with a brush as the knife was too cumbersome. The general low quality reflects the high speed at which this painting was completed. It’s about A3 size so it would click neatly into a £6.99 A3 frame from Boots. You could prop this up in your shed window (facing outward). I'm sure it would offer some solace while you’re spreading two tons of newly delivered steaming manure. It’s all yours for £8,244. Even Richard Branson hasn’t got one of these.

This is the photo I'm going to use to do a quick painting...

The view of The Grand Hotel from the lighthouse...

Steps worn down by many years of use...