A rich hyper-real illustration of High Force Waterfall, in Northern England, with powerful thundering falls and serene pools below. Intense textures on the rock contrast with the silky glass smoothness of the water.
The word 'Force' itself comes from the Viking word for Waterfall, making the name a double redundancy. As a language enthusiast, this has always irked me, so the Latin title is deliberately ironic.
I wanted to re-create the darker textures of 18th Century English landscape paintings, which seem to blur the line between etching and painting. My starting point was a good deal of high dynamic range long exposure photography of the falls, which were digitally enhanced to bring out various details. Different elements from 4 separate HDR composites form different parts of this work. It is not possible to produce a single image which kept all the high-frequency detail I wanted in the rocks and moss, whilst keeping the polished glass feel of the water.
USD $525.00
(Images here are for illustration purposes)
This is a strictly limited edition reproduction. Only 5 copies have been made and the artwork will not be available in any other format. You will be 1 of only 5 owners of this artwork.
A numbered Certificate of Authenticity is included.
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A unique, unexpected but vibrant watercolour blend of harsh Northumbrian isolation with Caribbean clearwaters. Water-like strokes only appear on close inspection, a more distant view reveals a fresco-like texture.
Bamburgh Castle lies a short distance from Alnwick Castle, the filming location used in the Harry Potter films. It is the largest of England's few remaining inhabited Castles.
All too often along England's coastlines, the sea is a stormy, powerful but dark turmoil whilst the sky still contains colour and joy. I wanted to bring a contradictory sense of chrystal clear calmness, the kind that only exists in movies set on a desert island.
This work is constructed digitally from scratch using the colour palette of the Caribbean, but the shapes and buildings of Northumbria. Both real in their own right, combining to make something unreal.
USD $525.00
(Images here are for illustration purposes)
Realistic coloured pencil sketch of a simple wooden bridge over a serene narrow waterway, within landscaped English Stately Home gardens on a warm summer's day. Gentle greens and blues are very English, like china teacups. The scene has oriental overtones.
The image is based upon all Stately Home landscape gardens so has no no direct 'real' equivalent. I've spent many hours wandering around places such as Castle Howard, and they all have elements which I remember. The trees are from Burton Constable; the bridge itself is like one at Headlam Hall. The hedge - Castle Howard and so on.
Eventually if you see enough of them, they seem to merge and it's hard to distinguish the memory of one from the other. Your recollection becomes sketchy.
USD $525.00
(Images here are for illustration purposes)
Oil and water only mix well in the eye. Hyper-real oil strokes reflect a vast, simple inky black blue sky; infinite above and infinite below. Be big, bold and icy cold.
Inspired by the cold isolation and freezing waters of one of Northern England's many reservoirs, Balderhead, on a crystal clear winter day. The location I was walking in was made famous by Daleswoman Hannah Hauxwell, who made headlines in the 1970s with her antiquated lifestyle.
Simplicity is it's own reward, offering a chance to reflect on the greater, vaster void (pun intended).
It's all too easy to get caught up in busy, to see detail in everything and fill with content. Sometimes the best story is the lack of one, conspicuous by its absence, but that becomes its own contradiction. Even the absence of story is a story.
USD $525.00
(Images here are for illustration purposes)