Some Stories Behind my Work
The Treasures of Monviso
In northern Italy, about 45 million years ago, some natural rock was subjected to enormous pressure metamorphosing it to jadeite, a very hard stone that polishes to a beautiful green.
Between 5000 and 4000 BC, neolithic people chose this stone with which to fashion axe heads, extracting it from the mountain at over 2000m above sea level. Large boulders were split by fire and water to create pieces of workable size before they were honed down and eventually highly polished.
The investment of time, skill and labour must have contributed to the value of these axes which were traded over huge distances throughout Europe, from the Atlantic coast to the Black Sea, as high status ritual objects.
Two of these, which are depicted in the right of the picture, were discovered in the west of Ireland and now rest in the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.
While I was painting this picture, I was thinking of great stretches of time, the rhythms of erosion by the elements, the hewing and splitting of stone by man and the alchemy from deep within the earth which gives us a treasure of minerals.
Cornish Quoit
240mm x 240mm . Water colour on Bockingford 300gm paper.
The subject is an ancient, neolithic monument in south west England on moorland from where there is a view of the sea. I made this painting during a summer holiday in Cornwall sitting on the ground nearby the quoit (or dolmen ) using a small box of Windsor and Newton watercolours. It came together surprisingly quickly in a magical way.
Private collection.
Opinicon Lake, Ontario
280mm x360mm Arcrylic on card.
My brother and his family live in Canada and whenever I have been fortunate enough to visit them, I have sketched landscapes.
Ontario is a land of lakes, trees and big skies. This sketch of a small island in Lake Opinicon, was made on a windy afternoon from the shore with a large sketch pad on my knee while turkey vultures were flying overhead.
It is not a technically wonderful picture but the process of making it has cemented the memory of the place in my mind. Acryllic paints are very good for outside work because they dry so quickly and are very versatile.
Sketch of Bunny
841mm x 594mm, Pencil on cartridge paper.
I attended life drawing classes, with the blessing of my teachers, from 14 years old until I was 18. These were held in an elegant Georgian building in SydneyPlace, Bath, which was annexed to Corsham College of Art . The classes would take place in the evening and run for two hours with a variety of fantastic tutors including David Cobb and John Eaves.
A favourite model was Bunny Ware who could stand still as a statue for ages and she was always fun and chatty during the most welcome coffee break half way through.
Drawing the nude with a soft pencil or charcoal helped me to develop confidence in creating a flowing line.
Private Collection
Taylor Lake, Ontario
250mm x 175mm, Watercolour on 300 gm rag paper. 2010
I made this small study of an old pine from the front seat of a car on a visit to a place in Ontario called Taylor Lake.
I was taken by the way the sinuous roots of the tree gripped the granite boulders . I think the tree was a Scots Pine because the bark was very pink and purple.
Private Collection
Horse Head Sculpture
In 2016 I was commissioned to make a sculpture for the wall of a building that linked a manor house to some old stables. I chose to create a horse’s head within a kiln-cast, clear glass block as a nod to my clients’ love for Lalique glass and the proximity of the stables.
Firstly, I modelled a plaster head which was packed around with glass in a specially constructed fireproof box and placed in a kiln where it was slowly brought up to a very high temperature. The glass melted and fused around the plaster form before the plaster burnt away in the kiln, leaving a negative, concave form of the head within the glass. After slow cooling over several days, the glass was released and then diamond polished.
The head was inspired by Celtic and primitive horse images that spoke to me of timelessness and pure equine spirit.
Ventimiglia Beach
230mm x 310mm, Watercolour on 300grm rag paper. 2017
Friends take an old house in Ventimiglia on the Italian Riviera each summer. It was on my first visit there that I was to experience the Italian way of enjoying the beach. The first rule is to hire an umbrella and the second is to wear jelly sandals… There were many jolly umbrellas, colourful towels, windbreaks and people of all ages.
I painted this impression of a hot afternoon at the lip of the Mediterranan under the shade of a bouganvilia back at the house.
Private collection.
Cinghiale
1300 mm long ( lifesized)
Earth pigments on Screeded Concrete.
I painted this wild boar on a newly made wall in my Italian studio. Sometimes a family of boar can be seen crossing the field below the studio at dusk. Although the adults are large animals, they are very fleet of foot and have delicate looking trotters.
The concrete surface just brought out the cave painter in me.
Domed Ceiling Mural
I was commissioned to paint a sky on the domed ceiling of an historic house in Norfolk . There are many ways to paint a sky but I decided to attempt the style of the great masters Claude and Poussin to suit the classical architecture of the house.
To understand how the morning light would play and interact, I chose to sleep in the room for a week while the scaffolding was in place and I had begun gilding the grille at the apex. I had my favourite Jack Russell terrier, Bumper with me as company but he was not allowed on the scaffolding.
This grand skyscape with a sunrise, on the eastern walls, now covers the 40 foot wide domed ceiling.
Norfolk, England.
Private client.
Storm Baby with Angel
Watercolour, 2020
The deadly weather event, Storm Alex, swept over Europe at the beginning of October 2020. 60 cm of rain fell upon our region of Northern Italy in 24 hours resulting in landslides, flooding and the loss of life. At the same time a friend was expecting the arrival of a new grandchild and as she spoke to me about her concern, I visualised the cyclone spinning east across the Alps and the foetus turning in the womb as he prepared for his birth.
As the storm moved away, baby Adam was born on the coast of Liguria and he is a lusty and healthy child.
I used watercolours and resists for this painting which is one of three I made on the subject. The angel appeared as a happy accident in the right of the painting over what represents the NW Italian coast.
The Tanarello in Winter at New Moon
A black marble figure appears in some of my abstract paintings about places.
I imagine it as an androgynous witness and although made of stone, it is alive. It looks out of the picture asking “What do you see?” and “What is this about?”
To me, it is the figure of a magician; a catalyst that links the forces of nature with ourselves and our ancestors.
The eye of the figure is suggested by a circle that could be the light around an eclipse of the sun or the moon. The figure is especially pertinent in my paintings inspired by neolithic monuments which are though by some to have been built as celestial clocks and ritual sites.
Argo the Dentist’s Dog
I am very lucky to have a wonderful Italian dentist. As thanks for the careful work he has done for me, I created 2 watercolour and gouache portraits of his beloved hunting hound, Argo.
A cherrywood frame was professionally made in Turin, and now the picture hangs in the clinic.
