Whilst eating my sandwich on a bench outside the Yarmouth Council building, I noticed a section of pedestrian protective railings at a road crossing. It looked as if quite a few vehicles had crashed into it! There were two sections, both badly mangled. What was most interesting, was the shadow they cast, like a mirror image due to the bright sunlight. I photographed the two lengths separately, with a view to stitching them together in the computer, but found it difficult, so I just used one. I created the shadow artificially. Just along the road (South DenesRd.) it is an industrial area dealing with the gas fields offshore. In one manufacturing compound was a very large fabricated structure painted yellow. I suppose it was a frame made of box steel. There were gaps through the frame which I have filled in with a flat yellow plane.
Subject: Abstract
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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?).
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Collision
Walking in West Earlham, I came across this shattered bike. It was still attached to one of the two tubular rings which serve as stands for bicycles to be locked and secured to. Obviously car had mounted the kerb at speed and ploughed into them. The first stand got flattened and the unfortunate bike took a hit. I noticed the wheels were missing, and the hoops looked like substitutes. I thought it was a very unusual scene, . . So . Click! After isolating the bike and stands, I created new background with lots of green spots of various shades and sizes. Then I swirled the result which looked apt. Experimenting further, I sharpened the image, which distorted the colours and produced red tints. This looked like blood or a continuation of the bikes movement, which gives the picture a dramatic twist.
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Kandinsky Mosaic
Just noodling around with some photos of different paving slabs and groundwork, I got carried away, as you can see! I eventually got to the result and was struck how much it vaguely resembled a typical Kandinsky. He was a Russian painter (1866-1944) who is attributed for pioneering abstract art.
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Untitled No.22
I was drawn to the empty branches against a grey sky, on an autumn walk. It was easy to cut away the sky, to leave a transparent background. I have collaged three branches, one at the top, and two at the bottom, and then meshed them together. I then overlayed a gradated blue sky, replacing the dark silhouette. All that was left to do, was slowly fill the gaps with “greenery’, making sure to keep each shade separate and varied.
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Untitled No.13
I like this image very much, which once again, came out from left field. The element that locked the picture, is the bark of a tree in the background. The spiral stairwell goes up to a flat above Randells Footcare, on the corner of Dereham Rd. and Heigham Rd. The upturned yellow and black stools were in a pub. I kept the asphalt forecourt below the stairs, as a base for the composition. You won’t be surprised to hear, the tree bark was in Tasmania!
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Untitled No.17
If you stand in the Norwich bus station, at the No.4 and 8 bus stop, look up behind you, at the gap between the back of the multi-storey car park, and the Travelodge. The brick edifice in the picture, is what you will see. Beyond that, in the gap above, is a view of Dubai through the window of a plane waiting on the tarmac. Makes sense eh? In front is a collage of overhead power lines for trains at Norwich Railway station. I liked all the conflicting lines and angles in the composition.
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Twist And Spring
What you can see here are the following objects: a connection and ratchet stay, to keep the metal wire of a fence taut. A gate to a public park, with a spring loaded bolt lock. Another gate to a park, and a twisted wire fence. Lastly a hanging stanchion with the white nylon wheel, to cast and retrieve the nets on a fishing boat. Is that clear? I had a great deal of satisfaction making this collage work.
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I Hate Graffiti
There is a bike/pedestrian path which was a railway line. It runs from the Barker St, Barn Rd., St. Crispins roundabout to Costessey. Along it is a bridge that crosses the river Wensum, which is all heavy duty, thick metal girders and rivets. It had recently been painted black, to preserve a testament to our heritage. Then some mindless moron vandalised it with spray paint. I photographed the bridge, for the angles it exhibited, with a view to erase the offending marks in the computer. In the background is a big black, heavy-duty plastic sheet. It was being used by a farmer to cover a load of manure. In the process of creating the picture, I inadvertently twisted the image of the bridge to great effect. As for the graffiti, I thought “Hell!, leave the vandalism for all to see.”
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Game, Set And Mismatch
An empty tennis hard court, in Eaton Park. I liked the different shades of green, and the white lines. There are five different photos amalgamated here, in a way I thought created a striking image. The golf ball was a last minute thought (and covers an ugly meeting of edges behind it!). The title then became apparent.