Mint Street Parade

Mint Street Parade

(acrylic on board, 25 x 25 cm)

In December I had trouble with very visible Sharpie lines on this panel but solved it with a layer of thin paper. Last week I pushed on and thought I'd finished the painting. 

I was a little dissatisfied with what seemed to be simply a street scene with a man standing there with his shopping bag and I'm always acutely aware that the good folk of the North East don't like buying pictures of places they don't recognise and Mint Street is in Lincoln.

My admiration for Carel Weight suggested an addition. In many of Weight's paintings there are mysterious or unexplained events, often taking place out of the picture, and into my head jumped the idea of a passing parade. Hence the balloons.

Oddly, when I showed this picture to my friends at the recent Newcastle Painters meeting, no one noticed the balloons and my little joke was lost.

George III

This handsome devil with the big Hanoverian hooter is George III, King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820. I came across him in the grounds of Lincoln Castle last weekend and was surprised that no information about the bust was displayed, not even a plaque with his name.

A little research reveals that the stone bust, part of a 15ft statue of the monarch, was originally attached to the top of Dunston Pillar, south of Lincoln, in 1810, to celebrate the 50th year of George's reign. 

The full-length statue was taken down in 1940 and put into storage because the RAF feared the structure could be a hazard to low-flying aircraft.Fragments of it were reassembled into a bust in 1970 and put on public display until 2007, when it was found to be cracking up and was put back into storage.

Further restoration was carried out and the bust was returned to public display in 2010. The legs and the rest of him are still in storage.

Farm in Langdale

Farm in Langdale (Oil on board, 16 x 16 in) SOLD

I spent last weekend in Lincoln with a group of friends. Much fun was had and a great deal of walking done. I also came back with at least one idea for a new painting. Now all I have to do is ...well, paint it.

Later in the week came this unexpected sale. This painting, done a few years ago, marked the beginning of a determined attempt to get into painting the landscape rather than the city. I still don't feel I can call myself a landscape painter, but I'm on the way.

Lincoln

Lincoln Cathedral

Boats at Brayford Pool





High Bridge, Brayford Canal

I spent a few enjoyable days in Lincoln last month and thought you might be interested in one or two photographs I took there.

I liked Lincoln a lot and it was fun catching up with an old friend I haven't seen for twenty years or more. The visit was in the nature of a reconnaissance trip to check out potential hotels for a reunion of friends and in that it was very successful. I'm really looking forward to next year's event.