I was given a bunch of tulips as a present for my birthday. They came from Jane; it was a first for me! They looked quite good in the glass jug, but as in life….they started to droop and die. It was at that point I photographed the dramatic arrangement. Walking up Ten Bell Lane to the junction at Pottergate and Cow Hill, I noticed the road markings that had been worn away. The cobblestones seemed to emerge from the paint. I took a few photos. I have montaged two photographs together, not quite convincingly, but credible. I put the flowers into the picture and they seemed to fit very well. The whole image ‘works’ and there is some ‘movement’ too. I was very satisfied with the result.
Eight Sheets To The Wind
When I see something that I consider to be outstanding or photogenic, I will take a few photos and ask questions later…So it is with these fitted bed sheets that were drying on the washing line in the bright sunshine. The photographs I took remained in my photo library in the computer for six months. Returning to them, I looked for a landscape to put them in. I tried a few options and eventually settled for this picture of Cromer Pier. I liked the tyre tracks that had been created by the tractors pulling the fishing boats to the water. I arranged the sheets in size and position and tried to get them to follow the curve of the tracks. I distorted, turned and arranged the sheets to arrive at what I considered a flowing composition.
The Mirror, Barometer And The Blister Strips
Two friends had recently bought a house, and I helped them decorating all the rooms before they moved in. This is the front living room. Above the fireplace were the shadows left by what was obviously an oval shaped mirror. Also there was what we jokingly called a banjo, but of course it can only have been a Barometer. I stretched the image; one can tell by the shape of the fire grate. I had a picture that I had done previously but not used of the blister strips. I had arranged them on a piece of silver foil and took a few photographs. Looking for something to replace the view through the window, I tried a few images and put the strip picture in, and it fitted perfectly, looking incongruous and surreal. Finally I wanted something else to balance the composition. I thought of the drinking glass (pills…water…) which is of course not relatively sized. It took me some time and effort to make the glass transparent and credible.
Lufy 2
Here is Betty and her cat Lufy. Betty is in the back room of her new home before any furniture had been moved in. Lufy (not to size!) is in the upstairs bedroom: not really, he was photographed in the old house… I have of course joined the two rooms and distorted them to create some ‘movement’ and compositional integrity (?). It is a very simple idea and the picture seems to work very well. I did flip the image horizontally from the original because I thought it ‘read’ much better.
Three King Lane (Redo) 2
I have just found the original collage that I did with Pritstick and end-prints onto card, back in 1992! I eventually photographed it on transparency and scanned it into the computer. I edited the electronic file in 2019, hence the (Redo) in the title. Now I have re re-edited the image and included it on the website. Three King Lane is a pedestrian alleyway that runs down from Pottergate to St. Margaret’s Church on St. Benedicts St. Back in 1992 the lane had be refurbished with brickwork and manhole covers (can I say MAN hole?) – there were lots of them so photographed and collaged. Not all the covers made it onto the final piece.
Untitled No.67
This is the Nave of Westminster Abbey, with its fabulous vaulted ceiling. I had to be blasphemous and introduce a car vacuum cleaner from a petrol station. At least I cut away the ribbed hose pipe and nozzle from the rest of the free standing facility. I was experimenting with a picture to put with it. I liked the combination. The colours and curves seemed to blend. I tilted the pipe to fit into the scenario, and you might notice where the pipe disappears into the recessed hole into what was the working component of the self service unit, but becomes an extension of the ceiling.
Mess Technology
This is another picture that I have re-edited. Originally completed in 2016, there was something about it that I didn’t like. Since I have ‘tweeked it’, think it has become much stronger visually. I gave that title because of the two technologies, i.e. the steam train wheel and the copper pipes, with the electric sockets and charger wires; it looked a mess! ( not mass). The background is a view looking down into a tub of margarine/butter, with the distinctive knife mark indentations. I thought the image had ‘movement ‘ and was interesting and bold.
Looks Like Snow
This picture was originally created in 2018. The T.V. ariels came from another collage I was doing at the time called Antennae Roosting. That project was a monumental endeavour that took a very long time to assemble and compose, – ( I’ll show you it sometime). The clouds are real. I was out walking and got caught in a sleet storm(?) and photographed the clouds as they passed by. I don’t know why I placed the coloured, silhouetted ariels in the picture, but it struck me as a strong and interesting concept. I have lately revisited the image and edited it to my satisfaction, because the original looked so muddled and there were too many items. Why Graphic Art? Well it was the only category I could think to attribute it to.
Deluded
Very late one night, I put two photos together for no apparent reason; it looked very dramatic. The background is the south wing of Terminal 3 at Heathrow. As you can see, I have ‘swirled’ the image. The athletes in the foreground were participating in a Triathlon event in 2006. They were at Whitlingham Great Broad , looking at the swimming course set out on the water. I liked the way they were shielding their eyes, one guy is ‘cricking’ his neck! I put the picture through a couple of filters (as usual…zzz) to accentuate the vision. Why Deluded? …I don’t know, it was very late at night/early morning…..
Jon 2
This is Jon Page, who I have known for years, although I haven’t seen him for quite a while. Here he is mooring up his little boat at the Griffin Lane Marina at Thorpe St. Andrew. I took this photograph in 2007. As you can see it is a very basic motorboat, and we had great times. We used to go onto the River Yare for trips, usually to the riverside pubs or for a picnic. I was looking for something to marry this photo with (minus the background) and eventually settled for the extraordinary terrace ‘garden’. I saw this on Riverside Road in Gorleston and took the picture without thinking anymore about it. I think it presents an unusual image. I applied a couple of filters (hence the number 2) to distinguish the overall effect.