I asked Tim to produce a painting of The Needles, the Isle of Wight’s iconic landmark. It turns out that Tim knows this area well and has already sketched and painted The Needles.
Below is his monoprint of The Needles and below that is a copy of his sketchbook, where he made jottings and notes.
I love the way he turned the marker buoys into chess pieces.
And here are a couple of my own photographs of The Needles, taken during my walking round the coast.
For more of Tim’s work, take a look at my Artist in Residence page and visit timbaynesart.co.uk
Ruth's Coastal Walk (UK) 
Hi Ruth, I am really enjoying following your journey round the coast – can’t wait for the next installment up in Argyll and Bute. You do set up the tension very subtly! Eg: 354am Southend to Machrihanish “What was I worrying about?” not to mention sheep skulls and bulls and cows with tiny calves! You should write a murder mystery.
I have a question though – have you walked round the Isle of Wight? I’ve just noticed this post about Tim’s pictures of the Needles. I’m interested because I was brought up on the Island, and we lived two or three miles from the Needles, at Totland Bay. Used to hear the foghorn of the lighthouse groaning away at night. That was many years ago, though, and I think some of the rocks have a slightly different profile now. And lighthouses no longer groan mournfully in the fog any more.
Regards,
Jean
Hi Jean and thank you for your kind comments about my blog posts! No, I didn’t walk round the Isle of Wight, but got a good view of the needles from the mainland coast. I did my first junior doctor job on the Isle. Only there for 6 months, but always had a soft spot for it. I believe they are planning to create a round island coastal path, because at the moment there are sections without public access. It’s on my list of walks to do when I finish this one! Best wishes.
An IOW blog post sounds good! I’ll look out for it. Wasn’t sure there was a path round (there should be of course, every coast needs a path!) I remember when we were in our early teens, a friend and me trying to forge a way through above the sea somewhere near Yarmouth, and getting stuck on the famous Blue Slipper clay, a local speciality. Not sure if it’s called that because it makes you slip down the cliff, or because it wraps itself round your feet and you end up looking like you are wearing huge grey slippers.
Another day, we ran away from what I still swear was a bull, though one of the local farmers said there were No Bulls whatsoever in any field around there. Sorry, don’t want to put you off, the Island is lovely and has a very varied geology and landscapes. I do empathise with you in your bovine adventures though.
Stay safe.
Regards,
Jean