This is a collage of four different flaked paint surfaces. I liked the colours revealed under the worn upper layers of paint. The top three strata were of boats out of the water by the river at Beccles. They were obviously dry docked for refurbishment. The bottom layer is of an old buoy which is a decorative exhibit on the quay at Kings Lynn, by the Customs House. The dilapidated lifebuoy was still on the wall of a derelict and disused Broads National Park building by the bridge at Beccles.
Untitled No.48
It seems as though I have become fixated with distorted Helter-Skelters (Ref:’Fandango’j; this one being a permanent attraction in Cromer on the Promenade. The structure includes the white roof of an indoor gaming machines emporium, which the ride stands above. The dial is something I created from scratch, at the last minute, to compliment the composition and distract the eye… Next to these is the Lady Julian Bridge in Norwich. I had to distort the towers to reflect the flow of the picture. I changed the sky from the slightly hazy to the more interesting…..
Walk Into My Parlour
This is the Ferris wheel on the beach front in Yarmouth. I cut away the spaces between the spokes, which took a very long time! I then looked for a background and eventually found one of the photos I took of the Eastern Edge Complex at Lowestoft. These are newly built beach huts (see ‘Lowestoft Beach Huts’ in the Abstract category). They seemed to give the picture some depth. The top half of the photo was the beach, which I didn’t like. The man walking was good but he was partly hidden by the wheel, so I moved him. I substituted the beach for the plain net curtains in my bedroom, and then ‘swirled’ the image to reflect the curve of the wheel. “Will you walk into my parlour? said the spider to the fly” the famous poem by Mary Hewitt 1829.
Abstract No.11
The central object is the frame of an old pub sign, of which used to be the Brittania pub on Golding Place. The free standing sign post, minus the swing board, has two strip light fixtures, which illuminated the sign (are you following so far?). I have joined them end to end, and cut away the resulting silhouette, to reveal the detail of a riveted iron bridge stanchion. This is set against some paving groundwork at St.Anne’s Wharf….(did you understand that?).
Mending Windows
I came across the silhouetted access platforms (Cherry Pickers) on the South Denes Rd. in Great Yarmouth. They were parked in a yard, sticking up above a brick wall. I thought that they looked quite stunning, grouped together as they were, I HAD to photograph them. I took a few shots from different angles, and after selecting the photos I wanted, it took a very long time to isolate (cut them out) them from their backgrounds. I needed a landscape to pin them on. I sorted through a lot of images, trying to find an unusual setting that also provided a narrative. The view I chose, is of the Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool. It is near the Pier Head, on Mann Island. I liked the few half opened windows, on a sheer wall of glass. I did invent a few more open windows, for artistic license. I think the window in the top left hand corner, unifies the composition.
Stand And Fight
Working in the kitchen at Wiveton Hall Cafe, there is a suspended frame from which various culinary utensils are hung for storage, I just had to photograph it. Sitting outside the Pear Tree Inn, Unthank Rd. having a drink, I noticed the legs and wheels of some supermarket trolleys outside the store opposite. I thought they too, were worth a photo. The two items came together by experimenting, chance and readjusting. The landscape it stands in, is a view from the kitchen window. I was lucky to be presented with the dramatic skyline at the time; the dark clouds and the band of blue sky on the horizon; very surreal! This concoction looks as if it’s had enough and is preparing to fight back…my situation at the time?
Norwich 22.1.21
Walking along Queens Rd. one bright sunny lockdown day (Ref: the title), I came across two views of Norwich city centre. One was at the top end of the bus station entrance, and the other at the top of All Saints Green. I took some photographs, and when I got home, I montaged, designed and rendered the picture on the same day. I thought I would turn the blue sky red. It looked very dramatic, so I gave the buildings a reddish hue to compliment the light, and applied a filter for effect.
Nature And Decay
This picture is made from three different photos, and was created without any plan (as usual). It wasn’t until halfway through the process, that I realised the implications, hence the title. The ‘sky’ is a close-up of a metal panel, that is part of an old gate which was left in neglect. I liked the peeling paint and rust. I have included such features in past work, e.g. ‘Potboiler’ and ‘Wear And (S)tail. The tree is at All Saints Church in Swanton Morley, and the Crocuses were sprouting up on a grass bank, on the Dereham Rd. near Cadge Rd.
Chef Simon
Here is Simon, in a static caravan, looking at an I-pad. It was late evening and very cold, hence the glow of a vertical, one bar electrical heater. He is a chef, working at Wiveton Hall, on the North Norfolk coast, and sleeps overnight in the caravan on site. I cut away the windows behind him and replaced them with another photo I took years ago. I immediately thought of this photograph when considering the background, it was purely instinctive. It is a shot through a Motel window of a sunrise over the Nullabor in Australia. I was about to drive down the longest straight road (90 miles) in Oz; the Eyre Highway.
All Points Of The Compass
There is a third river crossing bridge being constructed from Southtown Rd./Cromwell Rd. to the Fishwarf on the Yarmouth side of the river. These cranes were being used in the operation. I have of course, isolated them from the original sky in the photo. The stairwell is on the side of the Coastguard building, on the South Pier at the entrance to the harbour. If you look down from the Jetty Cliff in Cromer, to the Promenade in front of the pier, there is a compass motiv decorating the paving stones, with the curved steps (see ‘Tied-Up Sweep’), which is the backdrop. I created the ‘glass ball’ in the computer from scratch to complete the composition. The suspension bridge is now complete and operational, 2024.