Visitors linger on the snow covered green as light fades. The ancient medieval arched entrance to The College, an area on the south side of the Cathedral which is the home of the Cathedral clergy and the Chorister School. 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. The medieval Elvet bridge built in 1160 by Bishop Hugh de Puiset. A former Cistercian Abbey near the market town of Helmsley, Rievaulx was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1538. It's picturesque ruins are now a regional tourist attraction.
The University Library had a major refit before exhibiting The Lindisfarne Gospels to great public acclaim in 2013.
I consider this my take on Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. Sadly this delightful 18th Century church is set to be converted into a private dwelling house. I vividly remember childhood expeditions to surreptitiously collect shiny new conkers in the church yard. The church is near to where a claw style green glass beaker dated to the 5th century  AD and of Frankish origin, was unearthed from under a hedge in 1775. The area at the time was being worked upon by local landowner Rowland Burdon. The church had been built only a few years earlier and The Beaker as it became to be known, was found with it's base sticking out of the ground by an estate worker. It is held in The British Museum and is evidently the only one of it's kind to be found in England. One of the jewels of Oxford, the Clarendon was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor and built between 1711 and 1713 to house the Oxford University Press. The building lies adjacent the Sheldonian Theatre which was designed by Hawkmoor's mentor and tutor Sir Christopher Wren. The north facing Cathedral door features an exact replica of the bronze Sanctuary Knocker which is normally part of the Cathedral Treasures display but is currently part of the Royal Academy's 'Bronze' exhibition which will run until December 8th. A homàge to Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Wedding Feast,  this painting is loosely based upon the National Trust's Stourhead Estate in Wiltshire.
Elvet Bridge built in 1160 by Bishop Hugh de Puiset. Part of the 2014 Durham Cathedral Exhibition. A scene reminiscent of Jan Bruegel's famous Hunters in The Snow. One of my all time favourite paintings. The Shrine in Little Walsingham North Norfolk is of global importance to the Anglican Church. Commissioned by Fr Kevin Smith, Priest Administrator in 2017, this large watercolour depicting the Shrine Church and gardens, is on permanent display and was officially unveiled at a meeting of the Shrine Guardians in April 2018. A beautiful day relaxing on College Green

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

The entrance to the castle on a bright autumn afternoon.

The Gateway, Durham Castle
watercolour
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Founded by Elizabeth the First in 1571 for the education of the clergy, the College alumni include T E Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) and twice British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson .

Jesus College Oxford, the outer quadrangle.
watercolour
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