Bar Beach is one of the most popular summer spots in Newcastle. There are several swimming areas at the beach – this one more hidden than the others. Tide permitting, you can walk around and across the rock platforms settled beneath a towering cliff in order to reach a secluded swimming spot. Many people take the short cut and scamper down the steep cliff from the car park - smuggling their dogs to that hidden beach. The main attraction for me as a painter, however, is not the beach - rather it is the plethora of rockpools, flora, sandstone and other rock patina colours and textures on that walk. Time and tide may wait for no-one - but it turns a blind eye to dog owners and painters.