Walter Holmes (b.1936)
Sunderland. Looking West along the River Wear

The Wallington Gallery welcomes Walter Holmes.

Walter is now providing paintings unique to The Wallington Gallery web site and to hang in the gallery. 

As a native of Northumbria, Walter Holmes has a wide knowledge of the area, especially the coastline and rivers, the sandy beaches (e.g. Tynemouth, Embleton etc), the rocky headlands, (Dunstanburgh), the castles, (Bamburgh, Alnwick, Lindisfarne), the fishing harbours, (North Shields, Seaton Sluice, Craster, Seahouses).

Apart from a few years in London, Walter has always lived in the North East (Wallsend, Whitley Bay and now Ponteland). He knew the local rivers, Tyne, Wear, Blyth and Coquet when they bustled with the old industries of ship-building and repairing - tugs pushing big ships around, colliers moored at staithes and fishing boats, even quite big trawlers, at North Shields.

His drawings cover the period of decline and redevelopment, especially of the Tyne at Newcastle and Gateshead with the Millennium Bridge and the Sage blending in with the older quayside buildings and Tyne bridges to which the Cutty Sark Tall Ships events have added colour since the mid 1980's.