The New Gallery Portscatho

THROUGH THE EYES OF

Tony Minnion

An artist and musician, Tony Minnion lives and works in Redruth, capturing the drama, power and everchanging movement of Cornwall’s landscapes.

Tell us about your chosen location and why it inspires you? It’s Gooden Heane Cove, Portreath. A steep-sided cove to the east of Portreath Harbour that has a perfect curved narrow sandy beach on the north west side that very few people get down to. I’ve painted it for years from many different vantage points but never climbed down to it as I’ve always been more interested in studies from above.

Describe the sounds and sights you experience in your location The continual crash of breaking waves, the gull’s cries that reach a crescendo as they all seem to kick off at once as the light begins to fade, the distant whir of returning fishing boats making their way into the harbour.

What colours do you like to use when painting your location? If I look for long enough every colour I’ve ever mixed shows up at Gooden Heane Cove. On clear days the sea is often a translucent green interspersed with purple and orange brown tones from rocks and seaweed visible just beneath the surface. In the shadows the water that pools between the rocks as the tide drops shines out as a surprisingly deep golden orange. The expanses of sandstone that seem to glow in pale ochres and cadmium in the sunshine turn to deep ultramarine and crimson as the shadows are cast across them.

What challenges do you face when conveying your location onto canvas? The challenge is always to be true to the more lucid and heart felt responses that I experienced on my latest visit to the cove, to articulate the extremes that I felt, the energy and intensity that this very special landscape gave to me this time around.

Finally, what do you love most about your location? That this unique and magical place is only 10 minutes away from my studio.