Friday 23 September 2016

The other day we drove over to Dunster and had a look around the castle again...


National Trust Dunster Castle (click link)

















sorry if some of these pictures are repeated from a previous post I did, but just had to take these pics as I wandered around...

this is one of two lamp stands in the main hall, they are each side of the fireplace.  When I took the second photo from a wider view, sadly the light from the lamps shone too much, but I hope you get the idea of the scale of these



(see, it all went a bit fuzzy)


didn't take photos of every room, but I thought this bedroom was lovely....


 and how is this for a snooker table



and the Library, where I was able to sit for a few minutes and sketch.  You see the blue wallpaper - it's referred to as Cordelova (click link)





This time I took photos of one of the kitchens.  Compared to the rest of the property which is old, this was very modern (well, for it's time - the 1950's)  It was decided by the National Trust to show the public this and I'm so glad they opened it up instead of shutting it away.



 who remembers formica folding tables?!



the radio on the left was playing appropriate music for the era too and I took a small video of the room












It was a good view from the kitchen sink.  In fact another visitor commented on it, but I rather burst her bubble on that one - she said how lovely it would be to have a view whilst washing up, I pointed out that if you were washing up, you would be too busy with the dishes to look at the view.  She was a little up herself about that and remarked that she had a dishwasher anyway and she made off fairly promptly, lol.


This was the conservatory on the way out...lovely



 A walk around the gardens was a must....I LOVE this bridge


 





another bridge



It wouldn't be a trip out if I didn't do some sketches



 Tonal sketches really aren't about detail, they are about tones
and from these I'll be able to do some paintings

 and then we stopped in nearby Minehead, 
where
yes,
I sketched





 and the lads



Yes, we all had a good day out.



14 comments:

Marie Smith said...

I love the kitchen, rather grander than any I remember from the time. Such a great place to visit, almost like going back in time. The bridges are out of a fairy tale, especially the first one.

ann @ studiohyde said...

Definitely a lovely place to visit. Fortunately we are fairly close to it, just a drive across the moor, so it is on our 'local list' of revisits :)

Judy said...

Gorgeous place! What an interesting lamp stands! I love the 50's kitchen, it is good that it is open to the public.

Eileen H said...

The kitchen is like a sore thumb in that lovely old castle, but I love it being a child of the 50s :) I had a little chuckle at the view versus dishes disagreement :) I like old bridges too, and glad William made a blog appearance :)

ann @ studiohyde said...

Yes, very unique lampstands and they were tall too.

ann @ studiohyde said...

I thought that too, that the kitchen was out of place. Apparently the Trust decided to keep it and show the public as it's part of the history of the castle. I can see their way of thinking though.

Yes, William has to get in on everything, lol.

robin cox walsh said...

The kitchens are the most interesting rooms (IMHO) in the old historical houses. (and continuing in the 'historical' vein....we had that wall mounted can opener in one of the houses I lived in growing up.....OMG I'm OLD! LOL) Lovely sketches. :)

ann @ studiohyde said...

LOL...(we didn't get modern enough for wall mounted can openers when I was growing up, your home was obviously very up to date) :))

Sadami said...

Hi, Ann, your photos are always lovely and make us happy and smile. I'm looking at fields in Australia and thinking of yours. We're getting into spring. Cheers, Sadami

ann @ studiohyde said...

Hi Sadami, You are so lucky to be getting into Spring, such a lovely time of year full of hope for the Summer to come. We on the flip side are now heading into Autumn and Winter {{brrrr = cold}}, but it does bring with it lovely views. Waving, Ann

Joan Tavolott said...

Good sketches and photos. Your car sketches are great!

ann @ studiohyde said...

Thanks Joan. With the car sketches, I didn't do an outline first, but drew with paint. When it dried I added the pen and that brought out the detail. :)

minnemie said...

Those cars are quite amazing, Ann! Details and proportions beautifully (yet loosely) captured!

ann @ studiohyde said...

Thanks minnemie, they were fun to paint. They did look like blobs of paint until I added the ink detail, and suddenly they came to life, lol :)