The Romance of the Seafront: Part 2

Like Deauville and Trouville, Agatha Christie's English hometown of Torquay offers romantic views along the seafront. My wife and I wandered along the above stretch of seafront on our second day in Torquay. It was pleasant to stroll along, take photographs of the sea, wander through the occasional park, or climb down the stairs to the beaches we passed along the way. It offered us a nice little walk to stretch our legs, before spending the afternoon in the Torre Abbey museum.

With its palm trees, and all the sails out on the water, you might easily believe you were visiting a tropical island. But this is England, and even though it was summer, we saw few bikini-clad ladies lazing on the beaches, or families frolicking in the surf. Still, it was a lovely day, and Torquay offers a nice mix of old and new architectural styles. I especially liked this circular walkway, that corkscrews from the seafront road to the beach.

On our first day in Torquay, we had not yet located an inexpensive place to park. So we stopped in this carpark at the edge of town, and paid for an hour or two. It was such a scenic place that, after eating our lunch, I got out my pencils and started drawing. It was the first time I worked with my Prismacolor pencils, and sadly, it shows. But the main problem was that I simply didn't have time to do the vista justice, not at the parking rates they were charging, and not when there was so much of Torquay we had yet to visit.

One of my goals for the year is not only to do more sketching, but to finish the sketches I've started. Hopefully, I can do this sketch justice, by imbuing it with the sense of romance that tempts us to leave our comfortable homes, and travel great distances to such exotic locales. I loved that little place by the sea, the boat bobbing in the water in front of the island, and the waves wash gently against the rocks. I can imagine Arthur Hastings and Bella Duveen standing there, holding hands while they ponder their future together. I can also see Hercule Poirot standing on the ramp, holding onto the guardrails, and gazing out at the lovely view. How about you?

Dragon Dave

Agatha Christie's Favorite Bathing Spots

In the Agatha Christie's Poirot adaptation of "Murder on the Links," Captain Arthur Hastings goes out one morning to swim, or bathe, in the ocean. There he bumps into Bella Duveen, the glamorous singer who so entranced him in the lobby of the Hotel Du Golf. When she tells him that the water is freezing, he abandons his swimming plans and instead treats her to breakfast in a warm restaurant. 

Later, after Poirot leaves for London, Hastings meets up with her again. As they walk along the seafront, she convinces him to allow her to tag along to the Police evidence room, where she can see all the items catalogued by Inspector Giraud as he investigates the murder of Paul Renault. He thinks it will all be terribly boring for her. She convinces him that, while she's fascinated by murder, she also enjoys his company.

Deauville, a jewel of the northern coast of France, owes much of its heritage to tourism. The city is renowned for its swimming and bathing opportunities. Over 150 years ago, a series of hydrotherapeutic baths were constructed. Today, visitors are still drawn to its famous pompeian baths.

Agatha Christie loved vacationing in France. Hence, Hercule Poirot often travels there during his storied career. Still, she never lost her love for Torquay. Her childhood home, locating on a stretch of coastline known as the English Riviera, offers beach lovers many places to enjoy an invigorating swim or a relaxing soak. According to one guidebook, Beacon Cove was one of the places Agatha Christie returned to again and again. With its sparkling azure waters and rugged coastline, its easy to imagine her loving this place.

Perhaps that's what drew me to capture this place in more than a photograph. While my wife wandered along the shore, hunting for interesting rocks and shells, I sat down with my pencils and hurriedly sketched out what I saw. The ocean breeze grew cool and bracing as the afternoon waned, but I didn't mind. For an hour or so, I immersed myself in one of Agatha Christie's favorite bathing spots. 

Afterwards, instead of swimming, my wife took me out to a warm restaurant for dinner. But then, she's occasionally admitted that she's fascinated by my sketching, and that she enjoys my company.

Dragon Dave

Hercule Poirot's Tree: Finished!

Here's my finished version of Hercule Poirot and his tree. This was my first project using my new Prismacolor pencils. The tree is the only thing that was real. Everything else came from my imagination. The tree was on a slope covered with ice plant outside a doctor's office. I filled in the scenery with grass, a brick path, and a field of rapeseed. 

As I mentioned earlier, somebody cut down my tree when I went back to color it the next week. So I colored it in as best I could, and finished it at home. In the process, I converted a bush up the slope into an apple tree. It's not perfect, but I'm satisfied with it.

The new Prismacolor pencils were fun to use. They had softer lead, so the coloring process went quicker. That didn't mean it came immediately though. I had to work on an area for awhile to fill in the entire paper, not just the topmost bumps or ridges. But I guess that's the cost of using softer lead and thicker paper.

The first day, when I sketched out the tree, I drew a scrap of cloth hanging from the dead tree. I guess I forgot this when I was coloring it in, and the scrap of cloth became just another piece of loose bark. So I added the bloodstain to suggest a clue for Poirot to investigate. In a way, it seems incongruous, as Poirot's investigations have more to do with him figuring out the psychology of the murderer, rather than merely gathering forensic evidence. But hey, it was just a fun art project, give me a break!

I'm taking my Prismacolor pencils to England, so hopefully I'll find lots of other things for Hercule Poirot to investigate there.