St Mary's Anglican Church in the former Durham mining village of Horden celebrated it's centenary on Friday 26th of April 2013. The painting was commissioned by Reverend Father Kevin Smith and the Church Council to permanently mark the event and was unveiled by the Bishops of Jarrow and Beverley. The entrance to College Green, an area behind Durham Cathedral mostly overlooked by tourists. A gift to a close friend to commemorate his 25 years service in the Anglican Church. This is the wonderful view with our backs to the door of St Marti Sacosta. It gave immense pleasure to paint the ancient and somewhat crumbling stonework to the buildings either side of the steps and the people enjoying lunch at the restaurant below. I loved the almost abstact quality of the domes in this view. However, we certainly didn't enjoy the long and vertiginous hike from the port to see! them! I loved my original version of this painting so much, that I decided to give it another go in order to kick start a new series for my 2016 exhibition. The centerpiece of this beautiful square is this fountain built in 1368 by Cansigorio della Scala, which is surmounted by a statue called Madonna Verona. The statue is in fact Roman dating to 380 AD. The medieval Elvet bridge built in 1160 by Bishop Hugh de Puiset. This anti-room to the former palazzo, (now restaurant) was open to the street. I couldn't resist walking in to gawp at the two wonderful chinese vases on display. San Giorgio Maggiore the 16th century Benedictine Basilica is viewed from one of the numerous gondola stations serving tourists visiting Piazza San Marco. The church was designed by Andrea Palladio, and built between 1566 and 1610 in the classical renaissance style. The majestic Cathedral looms over visitors to the Castle The Chorister School is situated within The College on the East side of the Cathedral. The School celebrated it's 600th anniversary in 2016 and this painting was commissioned by the then head teacher Yvette Day to mark the event and hangs in the main hall. I consider this my take on Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. The north facing Cathedral door features an exact replica of the bronze Sanctuary Knocker. The original is normally part of the Cathedral Treasures display but was part of the Royal Academy's 'Bronze' exhibition during 2012. A fisherman mending baskets watched by his young protegè on the island of Skiathos in Greece. I wanted to paint this and the view of Elvet bridge from Prince Bishop's Car Park for ages and only their complexity put me off, though eventually I couldn't resist the challenge.

Stuart Fisher Watercolours

Artist and award winning designer Stuart Fisher has exhibited his watercolour paintings across the region and as far south as Bath’s prestigious Rooksmoor Gallery. Shortly after his birth in Nuneaton Warwickshire in 1954, Stuart's parents moved to Peterlee New Town where he still lives today with his wife Anne.

Stuart believes that a large section of the art buying public are poorly served by the art market and are hungry for the return of traditional painting. He therefore specialises in the production of architectural watercolours within which he aims to imbue the atmospheric ambiance typical of Turner with the technical brilliance of his artistic hero, Sir William Russell Flint.

A career in architecture spanning almost 34 years culminated with his multi award winning design for Durham City's Science Learning Centre North East. This was followed in 2005 by what he terms 'an escape from the tyranny of the right angle' and the subsequent launch of his professional artistic career early in 2010





Original Watercolours for Sale

I wanted to paint this and the view of Elvet bridge from Prince Bishop's Car Park for ages and only their complexity put me off, though eventually I couldn't resist the challenge.

Elvet Bridge looking towards Old Elvet
Watercolour
Size:
» More Info

Saddler Street to the right of the painting at one time boasted a castelated gateways protecting the entrance to the Cathedral quarter, a remnant of which can be seen behind an obscure doorway off the main street.

The corner of Owengate and Saddler Street, Durham City.
Watercolour
Size: 440 x 215mm
» More Info