Coastal Village with Boats and Hillside Harbour Scene Watercolour

Title: Coastal Village with Boats and Hillside Harbour Scene Watercolour
By Tony Herbert (1927-2024)
Medium: Watercolor on board
Size: 14.5 x 16 inches
Condition: good
Provenance: From a large private collection of this artists work, Oxford, England

Description: This vivid and finely observed watercolour by Tony Herbert depicts a coastal village at low tide, its whitewashed houses and beached boats resting under the slope of a rolling green hill. The eye is led through the village street from the foreground — rich with textured shadows and footprints — into the quiet bustle of clustered homes and harbour life.

Possibly set in Cornwall or Devon, this painting exemplifies Herbert’s sensitivity to British coastal architecture with its characteristic rendered walls, slate roofs, and subtle tonal shifts. The row of small fishing boats along the sand and the figures gathered near the boathouse suggest the steady rhythm of seaside activity a working harbour in pause not performance

The steep textural hillside behind the buildings forms a strong backdrop balancing the looser strokes of the beach and sky. Herbert’s wet-on-wet washes give the greenery a lush layered depth while his dry brushwork on the beach suggests pebbles driftwood or worn shingle tracks.

There’s a pleasing compositional contrast between the soft topography of the natural environment and the angular geometry of the built scene. This is typical of Herbert’s approach — always attuned to how people light and landscape intersect in everyday spaces.

Perfect for collectors of British regional painting harbour or boat scenes or works evoking the South West coastline this piece has a quiet poise that makes it well suited for display in neutral toned or rustic interiors especially those near the sea.