Archives: Artworks

  • Corner Flags

    The flags look like they are home-made with squares of coloured plastic and bamboo poles. I saw these on Cromer Beach where the crab fishing boats are parked up, out of the water on the shingle foreshore. The flags are obviously markers used to show the position of the crab pots below water. I put them against some beach huts on Jubilee Parade in Lowestoft. There are two photos from different angles montaged together. I thought they presented an effective backdrop to the flags, and gave a dynamic composition. I created the graduated sky in the top right corner. Filters were applied. I think the picture has a very strong visual impact.

  • Gold Coast

    There is an old church by the green in St. Gregorys Alley. It has become St. Gregorys Antiques and Collectables which is a fascinating place to visit. A noticed a collection of mirrors on display in the entrance/porch. These were magnificent French (18th/19th century) carved gilt wood (gold leaf) framed mirrors. I had to photograph them insitu, only being able to capture the top halves, because other objects were placed in front and bottom. Whilst cutting away the mercury glass and backgrounds, I knew where I would place them. I remembered the photos I took in eastern Tasmania of the rocky coastline ( I think it was Bicheno) with the strange red lichen. This part of the coast is known as the Bay Of Fires. It was a case of arranging, sizing and planting the frames into the crevices of the rocks. Of course, this isn’t the real Gold Coast….thats in Queensland.

  • Untitled No. 75.2

    This picture started with an incidental photo of the spectators attending a Triathlon event at Whitlingham Broad in 2006 that I officially photographed. That was followed with the two separate images of the cyclists (2007 triathlon photoshoot) mounting their bikes to start the next phase of the competition. I of course cut them away from the original backgrounds. I was looking to tie the images together which took some time to research. Eventually I came across the concrete steps that lead up the hill to the Glastonbury Tor – perfect. I melded the image together, sized the cyclists proportionately, and created a satisfying composition and narrative. I left the white sky at the top as it was,  because it gave the picture a sense of balance. I applied a filter to give the image a painterly look, hence the .2 in the title. I have the original also.

  • I Give Up!

    Driving along the B1105 Wells Rd. from Fakenham, one comes across a group of cottages on the skyline. They stand out in the sunshine because they are painted pink with red roofs. They are situated on the crossroads with the Egmere Rd. which goes to Little Walsingham. I had to stop the car and photograph them. I have placed them on the horizon of some mudflats on the East Fleet river along from Wells Harbour. I have perversely put a lawnmower (made to look as though it has sunk in the mud) which I saw on the bowling greens at Yarmouth. These are on Marine Parade, next to the entrance of Britannia Pier. I added the blue sky and extended it vertically to give the composition more space. The title came at the end, as one could imagine someones exasperation in pursuing a nonsensical endeavour.

  • Bump 2

    I photographed the ceramic Phrenology bust some time ago which I saw in a Curio shop. Phrenology was a pseudoscience that claimed one could determine peoples traits and character by feeling the bumps on certain parts of the head and compartmentalise parts of the brain for specific functions. Bumps…geddit? Anyway, browsing through my library, I was drawn to one of the many photos I took at a disused shoe factory with all the peeling paint and the skylight windows. Placing the head in this environment, it seemed to fit. I was looking to fill the window spaces, but clouds were too obvious. Then I placed another peeling paint wall; which fitted perfectly, although I had to stretch and contort the photo to make a perfect fit. I included the text to explain the premise of the image (which started the whole process). “Things that go BUMP in the night” = dreams….geddit?

  • Superstructureshadow

    Stood on the deck of the ferry to Tasmania, I took this photo of part of the superstructure. The ship is the Spirit Of Tasmania, on its way from Melbourne (Geelong) to Devonport. The air vents and shadows cast were worth a photograph. This part is known as the as the Boat Deck. Fast forward twelve years, I decided to use it in a collage. I had to distort the image a bit to create a uniform presentation. Another photo from Australia is a picture I took of the winding derrick at Kalgoorie. It is at the Museum Of The Goldfields. One of many photographs I took (also see ‘Out Of The Blue’ picture), I thought it would contrast with the background. I have bent the structure a bit and gave it the shadows to compliment the scene. A very strong image.

  • Swirling Swans

    Walking along the seafront at Yarmouth on the North Coast Path, there are some cafes that had closed for the end of the summer season. One of them was the Beach Terrace Tea Rooms. Like most of them, the business’s sell buckets and spades etc. I noticed by the Tea Rooms bins a discarded display frame looking quite sculptural. Made of thin white metal hoops and horizontal rods, it was a tiered frame for which (I thought) was designed  to stack beachballs, one on top of another, about 120cm tall. I wish I could show you the original photograph….but hope you get the idea, badly explained! I isolated the background and looked for something incongruous to place it against. I immediately came across a photo I took of some swans by the Rushcutters Pub, outside Norwich on the Yarmouth Rd.  I cropped the image and put the frame on top. I started distorting and squashing it (the frame). I duplicated the frame and distorted that too. I reduced the opacity and applied a couple of filters to the swan picture, which made it look like a watercolour.  The result was quite startling. I had no preconceived idea and surprised myself. It’s in the Figurative category because I couldn’t think where else to put it.

  • Dying In The Kerb

    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.