It feels a long time since I've done any significant exploring or sketching out of doors. I've been busy working on some detailed paintings indoors (as you can see from my recent gallery additions). However, the days are getting steadily longer and sometimes warmer and wanderlust is calling again, hence an impromptu camping trip to Robin Hood's Bay in North Yorkshire. It being still quite early in the season, I decided to hire a glamping pod for myself and my two little Corgi boys. This turned out to be a good move since the weather was very changeable and flipped frequently between glorious, if breezy, sunshine to hailstorms and driving rain. The pod was an excellent base for my forays, simple but adequately warm and comfy at night so that I could complete my quickly abandoned sketches after dark if necessary. On my first evening I decided to explore the lower bay area and search for potential painting sites. I soon discovered the need to be very aware of the tides on this stretch of coast; the beach is only accessible at low tide, spectacular though it is. I enjoyed watching and photographing the breakers from the harbour and set off to find a safer spot from which to paint, at least until low tide. The village is delightfully quaint with tiny, picturesque alleys lined with 17th and 18th century smugglers' cottages, very atmospheric. During my explorations I discovered a little bench outside "Cockle Cottage" which bore a sign inviting anyone who fancied a chat to sit there and wait. So I did, and I was not disappointed. The dogs settled down underneath the bench waiting to pounce on unwary passers-by, and I produced the watercolour sketch you can see here whilst enjoying some very pleasant conversation with other painters and non-painters alike. Hopefully I might have encouraged a few to have a go themselves. I don't worry about being 'watched' while I paint these days, it's lovely to meet new people and no-one has ever made any negative observations about my attempts. I'm hearing a lot these days about the therapeutic effects of doing art mindfully and I'd like to think I've encouraged a few others to try it as a result. My plan for the next day was to challenge myself (and the dogs) with an extended coastal walk on the Cleveland Way coastal path and the "Cinder Track", more about that in my next blog post. Until then, happy painting to you all.