Man with sea in his blood finds coastal inspiration

He has visited sites from the Borders, through Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham to the Humber, producing 52 watercolours of coastal views along the way, with descriptions and stories about the locations.

They appear in his new book, launched this week, called A Coastal Voyage in Watercolour, published by Hexhamshire's Wagtail Press at £19.50.

It is not the first time that Ron has drawn inspiration from the natural assets and landscapes of the North East.

In 2002 his book of 78 watercolours of the River Tyne from the sea to the source was released. Having explored the many facets of the Tyne, it was perhaps inevitable that Ron, 73, would turn his attention to the coast in all its diversity.

He was, after all, born and grew up in South Shields, where he collected sea coal on the beach and pushed sackloads back home on the crossbar of his bike to help eke out the family budget.

He and wife Ann, also from South Shields, lived for four years in Craster on the Northumberland coast .

"At the bottom of the garden was the sea," says Ron.

"I have always been fascinated by boats, water and the sea and we have a great coastline in the North East.

"In Northumberland, the wealth of historical attractions, combined with miles of golden sands and dramatic cliffs, produce what many consider to be one of the finest stretches of coastline in England."

In addition to the well-established attractions of the Northumbrian coast, Ron enjoyed discovering locations on the County Durham shoreline, now recovering after years of dumping of mining spoil.

"I love the variety of the Durham coast with all its denes and they have done wonders in cleaning the place up," he says.

"Unbelievably, they simply dumped waste on to the beaches and rocks, turning them into stretches of foul sludge. Visitors kept well away. But to visit them now is a delight."

Ron, who is a self-taught artist, retired from teaching in his 50s to paint full-time.

His career spanned Ocean Road, Cleadon Park and Stanhope secondary schools in South Shields, deputy headship posts at Belford and Beaumont Middle School in Hexham, and headships at Chevyside School in Newbiggin Hall and Gosforth Middle School in Newcastle.

His idea to explore the Tyne came when he hired a small boat and spent a week between the estuary piers to paint the Tall Ships as they entered the river in 1986. "I thought it was worth recording places up to Newcastle, then it became Corbridge and it just grew from there," he says.

Then came his mission along the coast of the old Northumberland.

"The coast is an increasing asset for the region. There are some idyllic places," he says. "But what does sadden me is the decline of fishing. It is quite heartbreaking."

An exhibition of the watercolours from the coast book will be held at Newcastle's new city centre library from December 14-19.

View an image gallery of Ron's paintings »