New Painting

I’ve just completed a new acrylic painting which I’ve called ‘Flux’. It is based on the interior of a derelict ceramics factory in Stoke-on-Trent which I visited last year. I was fascinated by how the building was slowly falling apart and the way nature was starting to return to parts of the building. The colours, textures and shapes all looked fascinating to me. Although there was no electricity, the roof windows bathed the rooms in warm light.

‘Flux’ will appear in my ‘Abandoned Spaces’ exhibition which starts on the 24th February at Spode Works in Stoke-on-Trent. You can see an image of it in the ‘Abandoned Spaces’ section of my website.

Vacation

I have just completed a new acrylic painting which I’ve called ‘Vacation’. It features a derelict ceramics factory in Middleport as seen from across the canal. The abandoned caravan caught my attention and made it appear as if someone had chosen to have a holiday amongst an overgrown and neglected part of Stoke-on-Trent. There was something absurd but also sad about the scene. It is the same building that appears in my ‘Inside Out’ and ‘Outside In’ paintings. This piece will feature in my next solo show next year. You can view it in the ‘Abandoned Spaces’ section of my website.

Outside In

I’ve just completed a new acrylic painting based on the abandoned ceramics factory I discovered in Middleport. It is the same building featured in the ‘Inside Out’ painting which is currently on display at the RWA Gallery in Bristol. As usual, I was fascinated by the way nature takes over the spaces we leave behind and also how the light gently breaks through, bathing the leaves with an ethereal glow. This painting will feature in a new solo exhibition next year at Stoke on Trent (details to follow). You can view my new painting in the ‘Abandoned Spaces’ section of my website.

Brampton Museum and Art Gallery Open

I’m pleased to announce that two of my ink drawings have been selected for The Brampton Museum and Art Gallery Open Exhibition 2022. The two pieces chosen are ‘Guard House’ and ‘Whiskey 13’, both featuring buildings at the RAF Upper Heyford Airbase site.

I’ve been using ink pen quite a lot over the last few years and was pleased with how these pieces worked out. The exhibition runs from the 24th September until the 30th October and is free to visit.

Open Exhibitions

This week I found out that I have work selected for two open exhibitions.

My oil painting, ‘Hidden’, has been selected for the RBSA Prize Exhibition at the RBSA Gallery in Birmingham. This runs from the 15th September to the 15th October. My acrylic painting, ‘Inside Out’, has been selected for the Royal West of England Academy 169th Annual Open Exhibition at the RWA Gallery in Bristol. This runs from the 8th October until the 8th January.

These are both great shows and I’m really pleased to be included. Just need to get them both framed now!

Sandonia

I am often fascinated by how the landscape changes over a period of time. The Sandonia in Stafford has recently seen some dramatic changes after builders started to knock down some of the walls but then stopped, leaving it in a semi demolished state. This opened up the side of the structure revealing some of the interior, which I found interesting. I have just completed a new pencil drawing of the view from one of the sides and tried out a number of techniques to capture the gritty textures on the walls and ground.

As always, my interest in this kind of scene is the way nature takes over the places we abandon. In addition there’s the history side of it where people have memories of how the place used to be. The building has been used for various things over the years, finishing off as a snooker hall towards the end of its life. I remember playing snooker there once as a teenager with friends. At the moment I’m not sure whether the place will be fully demolished or restored once again.

You can view the drawing in the Abandoned Spaces section of this website.

GEC

I have just completed a new oil painting based on the old GEC Factory that was recently demolished in Stafford. This building was part of the landscape for as long as I can remember and it seems strange to now see it gone. The site was large and it took a few weeks to remove the various buildings. I have captured the main part of the factory, partway through demolition and was interested in how various parts of the interior became visible after some of the outer shell was removed. There is something quite sad but also beautiful about the last remaining parts of the structure. It was once a major employer for Stafford but this once busy area has now become very quiet and still.

'Guard House' selected for the Annual SGFA Exhibition

I am pleased to announce that my ink drawing, ‘Guard House’, has been selected for the Society of Graphic Fine Art Annual Exhibition. The show will run 5th - 10th July 2021 at the Mall Galleries in London. It is good to be part of a show that focuses on drawing as it is a big part of what I do as an artist.

‘Guard House’ is part of a series of work focusing on war remains and features RAF Tilstock, an abandoned airbase near Whitchurch.

Whiskey 13

I have just completed a new ink pen drawing of ‘Whiskey 13’, a watch tower at the disused RAF Upper Heyford site. I feel the black and white look of the drawing suits the subject and the ink pens were good for capturing the battered surfaces. I used a variety of techniques on this piece and enjoyed the process.

I find the structures at the site to be quite haunting and yet rather beautiful in a way. It wasn’t just a case of describing the appearance of these structures but trying to capture the atmosphere of the site which is full of history. You can find the drawing and others in the series on the ‘War Remains’ page of this website.

HAS 7

I have been working on and off on a new pencil drawing for a few months now and have eventually got round to finishing it. It features one of the shelters at RAF Upper Heyford, a disused airbase in Oxfordshire. The building is known by the USAF as a ‘TAB-V (Theater Air Base Vulnerability Evaluation Exercise) Shelter’ but at Upper Heyford they referred to it as a ‘HAS’ (Hardened Aircraft Shelter). They were used to house combat ready jets during the Cold War.

I visited the site near the end of 2019 and it was a fascinating place to experience. I have quite a few research photos of the area which I’ve dipped into for inspiration on recent work. Some of the buildings on the site had been repurposed as storage buildings for local businesses whereas other structures are derelict and in poor repair.

My drawing, ‘HAS 7’, can be found in the ‘War Remains’ section of this website.

Inside Out

I have just completed a new acrylic painting based on the derelict Price and Kensington Factory in Middleport. This building was discovered during a day of urban exploration with artist Jemma Gunning. We were intrigued by the structure which lay abandoned and was slowly becoming taken over by nature. I took several reference photographs but it was the view of the battered old sofa that caught my eye. There was something quite peculiar about seeing an indoor item of furniture placed in front of the factory and I wondered how it arrived here. The crumbling walls and exposed interior offered so much to explore with paint and I enjoyed building up the textures.

Three Counties Open Exhibition 2020

I’m pleased to announce that my painting, ‘Union’ has been selected for the Three Counties Open Exhibition 2020. This year, due to the pandemic, the show will be held online running from 31st July to the 31st August. This piece won the RBSA Open Exhibition earlier this year and remains one of my personal favourite pieces of work so far.

I am currently building up a set of work based around the same theme, some of which features in the ‘Fragments II’ online exhibition.

Escape into Abandonment

There has been a lot of talk amongst the creative community about how people have been spending their time during the pandemic. Some artists have been very productive whilst others have found it difficult to focus on a routine. Understandably people have been affected in different ways, which has impacted on their mood.

I have personally found my art to be a way of escaping from the drama of current events whilst simultaneously looking at themes that are very real and on going.

My work studies impermanence and change. It is all around us but is not often discussed, perhaps because it is a reminder of our own temporary existence. People often resist change and want things to stay the same, which just causes unhappiness. The study of dereliction is one way of looking at this impermanence.

The escapism part comes because although the subject matter references human activity, there are no people present. At the moment social media is full of people expressing anger, frustration and sadness about the pandemic or the injustice of the world, which is completely understandable. However I have found the general negativity, often fuelled by fear, to be overwhelming and have responded by retreating into a much quieter space. I wasn’t denying reality but needed a space to recover and rest.

One of the attractions of abandonment as a subject is that is very quiet and still. It’s a time for reflection or just contemplation of the natural world as it takes over the spaces we once used. No raised voices, no drama… just quietness. I have needed this space over the last few months to cope with what is going on. It has helped keep me balanced so that I can be there for other people when they needed support.

There’s nothing wrong with making art about current affairs and many people do it well but I find dealing with impermanency to be more satisfying and fascinating. Ironically it is a subject that will continue to be relevant to future generations and will never go away!

‘Fragments II’, my current exhibition with Jemma Gunning, explores these themes in more detail. This is an online exhibition and runs until the end of the year. Take a look.

Fragments II Launch

‘Fragments II’, the joint exhibition with Jemma Gunning, starts today. The show features drawings, paintings and printmaking exploring themes of urban decay, industrial decline and abandonment. This is our second collaboration which was originally intended to be held in a gallery but now due to the pandemic is being held online. Tonight we held an online private view via Zoom and talked to participants about our working practice and shared insight into the themes within the work.

View Fragments II now.

Universal II

I have just completed a new ink drawing of the old Universal factory that was a key landmark in Stafford until the recent demolition. It was a place of work for many of the residents in the area and is known by many people. I painted the factory a couple of years ago when it was still in use but even then it looked almost derelict and worn. The drawing captures the place partway through the demolition process. Now there is nothing left.

Universal II will feature in the Fragments II exhibition with Jemma Gunning.

Guard House

I have just completed a new ink drawing based on RAF Tilstick, an abandoned World War 2 airbase near Whitchurch. The title of the piece is ‘Guard House’ and it can be found in the War Remains section of this website. It is part of an ongoing series of work based around war remains but also continues the theme of dereliction that has featured in my work for a long time now.

The building is from the same site that was featured in my ‘Union’ painting that recently won the RBSA Gallery Open Exhibition. This drawing was made using fine line pens and liquid black ink, a medium that takes a lot of concentration as it cannot be corrected once applied.

My next work will most likely feature RAF Upper Heyford, an airbase in Oxfordshire.

Park Hall

I have just completed another commission for a private collector which is based on Park Hall, a derelict building in Shetland. This building was once occupied by a doctor but has been abandoned now for quite some time. The eerie atmosphere is emphasised by the absence of human life and it reminded me of some of Edward Hoppers paintings.

If you are interested in requesting a commission let me know.

Brunswick Tower

I’ve just completed a new drawing, ‘Brunswick Tower’, which features a structure located at RAF Upper Heyford, an abandoned airbase in Oxfordshire. This tower was situated by the weapons storage area and was occupied by a single member for 8 hour shifts at a time.

This piece was created using ink pens and watercolour. Normally my ink drawings are in black and white but I thought I would try a colour tint this time for a bit of variation. The work can be found in the ‘War Remains’ section of this website.

Union

I have just completed a new painting entitled ‘Union’ which is based on the remains of RAF Tilstock. I discovered the site last year on my way to Wales and was very much fascinated by what I discovered. It combines my interest of history, dereliction and woodland and explores the relationship between nature and people. The area was deserted and still and I was able to take a number of photographs during my visit. I may produce further works based on the theme.

An image of the painting can be found in the Abandoned Spaces section of this website. It will feature in the Fragments exhibition in September.

Fragment

I have just completed a new piece of work based on a derelict World War 2 pillbox I discovered in Northumberland. The collapsed concrete structure is quite striking and caught my eye immediately as I approached the beach. A large piece of it, featured in the drawing, balances from where it once stood onto the rocks below appearing like a jagged bridge. People have scratched in their names onto the surface like they sometimes do on trees. The history of the original structure mixes with the recent history of visitors to the area. In addition, this area had the quiet atmosphere often associated with derelict buildings and like my recent tree paintings combined natural with human made elements.

The drawing, entitled ‘Fragment’, was created using ink pens and ink washes and can be found in the Abandoned Spaces section of this website.