Clarice House, Bury St Edmunds, UK

28-05-13, a photo by Anita Davies on Flickr.

I love Clarice House! On a recent trip for a spa day I managed a quick sketch in the beautiful conservatory, between treatments, while waiting for my dear friend Jane

Clarice House

06-09-10
Originally uploaded by Anita Davies

Location: Clarice House, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. UK.

I treated my friend Jane to a birthday lunch at Clarice House, we had such a lovely day together.

More Pages from the Derwent Floral

A couple more spreads from my new Derwent Floral sketchbook

Lunch At Clarice

Harry and I are like two peas in a pod, we both appreciate art, architecture and elegance, which makes our days together all the more pleasurable.
I've been visiting Clarice House for a few years now, a residential spa situated in Suffolk, the perfect retreat in which to re-charge those batteries. On my return I would tell Harry all about my stay and the wonderful food I ate, promising to take him there sometime.


Harry loves to dress up. When he was younger he would parade the house as a soldier, a wizard, a pirate, Spiderman, etc... At the ripe age of ten his taste has matured somewhat, his favourite hero is 007 and his dressing up drawer consists of various suits and ties, as well as a black tuxedo.

Longing for a chance to wear some of these fine clothes in public, Clarice seemed to provide the perfect location, so off we set for a spot of lunch!


We spent the whole afternoon at Clarice, 'ooohing and ahhhing' our way through three courses of taste bud tantalisers before strolling around the grounds.
Harry looked every bit a gentleman, so handsome and so well mannered, capturing the attention of both the staff and the fellow diners.

So proud of him!



Clarice House 2008
Clarice House 2007

Clarice House Plein Air

4 April 2008 - Clarice House Grounds

Before I left for my trip I primed a couple of 10x12" canvas boards because I had noticed, when painting in the garden with Joannie, that they have a slight texture and worked better with a little base paint.

The one I decided to use while plein air painting in the grounds at Clarice was primed in bright yellow acrylic.

Here you can see the yellow base layer and my beginnings of a sky line.

I'm afraid I became lost to the universe over the next 40 minutes or so and totally forgot to take work in progress photos. Here is my painting near the final stages, just a few touches to add before reaching the finished image shown at the top of this posting.

This is just my second attempt at plein air painting with acrylic and I'm hooked, it feels so great to be in the middle of nature with my easel and paints.

Clarice House Sketches

Bar
My day at Clarice House in Bury St. Edmunds was just as I imagined...full of art!
On my arrival I visited the bar for a latte and stayed there for lunch, sketching as I ate.

Bar
I then checked into my room, grabbed my easel and chair, a canvas board and my acrylics and went plein air painting for an hour on Clarice grounds...It was wonderful!!!
I'll upload the painting in my next post.

On returning to the comforts inside Clarice, I took a latte by the window and sketched the herb garden wall outside.

Herb Garden Wall
After a nice session in the steam room and whirlpool, I made a quick sketch of the curtain fabric design back in my room before dinner.

Bedroom Fabric Design
I took my sketchbook to dinner with me - It's an A4 Venezia that I keep just for 'house' sketches; national trust, stately homes and historical buildings - So, it's rather large but I love it.

Restaurant

I made a sketch of the table flowers and the delicious dessert that I just knew you'd all want to see!

Luxor Room

Back in my room, I decided to relax on the bed and sketch the desk that supported the Birthday cards I'd opened early so I could enjoy them before dashing off first thing in the morning.

I crashed shortly after ...probably the earliest night I've had in years, just after midnight.

Breakfast menu

I am not a morning person. I am not a breakfast person.

However, I sat down for breakfast at approx. 7.20am and tried to eat something, not knowing when I would next get chance. Destination Sudbury, Gainsborough's House for a 6 hour life session.

Worth the agony?...You betcha'!