An art lover’s house in Roundhay, Leeds. The owners requested a drawing in colour and I was happy to oblige. Painted last week on watermarked T & J H Kent paper from c.1950.
Finally… it is Spring in Leeds.
A local Viking who kindly agreed to sit. Pet has striking features which I am drawn to draw.
Galloway – a good place to rest, no need to count sheep…
The Rhins of Galloway, trying to think about nothing.
The Rhins of Galloway, a good place to get away when the world’s gone mad. It’s very green and peaceful, and the sheep don’t bother you.
This tree in my local park is wider than it’s tall. Two weeks ago, the candles were at their best. I’ve painted horse chestnuts in blossom for a few years – it’s not easy and this is my favourite attempt so far. I’ll have another go next year…
This is the View From Birkrigg Common. It’s hanging in a group show in Leeds called And Did Those Feet, an exhibition exploring William Blake’s poem, Jerusalem.
The inspiration for the picture came in March this year when I visited Birkrigg Common, Ulverston, Cumbria, and was struck by the panorama visible from the triangulation point.
Since then I have painted it several times, usually as a series of 4 interlocking images, that to me represent many of the elements of Blake’s Jerusalem:
1. England’s mountains green are there – the fells of the Lake District.
2. Ancient times have left traces such as the Bronze Age stone circle.
3. The pleasant pastures of Bardsea, with their sheep and lambs, look down on the purple sands of Morecambe Bay at low tide, and the island where monks built a holy chapel in the 14th Century.
4. Here can be seen more clouded hills, and at the far right of the painting, Heysham nuclear power station – our latest version of a satanic mill.
The exhibition runs until 24th May 2016 at St Edmund’s Church, Lidgett Park Road, Leeds LS8 1JN. I’ll be there on Sunday 22nd May, 11:30am – 1pm, if you’d like to say hello and see my longest painting yet – it’s 10 feet wide.
Sunset on Monday night – the sky and the trees go crazy – in a good way.
Recent journeys into Lancashire.
