109. Cardington Tulips
432mm x 635mm (framed size)
398mm x 600mm (canvas size)
Interactive Acrylic on Canvas (in white floater frame)
£230
Exhibited at the Eagle Gallery members exhibition (25th June - 28th July 2018)
Exhibited at "The Butterfly and St. Paul's", Eagle Gallery, Sat 11th - Sat 18th May 2019
Exhibited at Optimis office Bedford Sept 2019 - Jan 2020
Exhibited at Wished for at Christmas 3, The Workhouse, Dunstable, 9th December 2020 - 16th January 2021. (closed early)
Exhibited at "Today is a good day", The Workhouse, Dunstable, 14th April - 8th May 2021.
So, one might assume that “Cardington Tulips” would be a depiction of tulips found in Cardington. Well in the spirit of ‘fake news’, the less romantic reality is they were actually indigenous to the bottom of my back garden in Luton. A large amount of the actual painting, however, did occur in Cardington.
To understand this better, I should explain the genesis of this painting. In May 2018, The Eagle Gallery undertook a series of open studios by its members as part of the “How we do it” exhibition. The stragglers (not that local to Bedford or with a painting facility/ house not so suitable for public visits) consisting of five others and myself, took over a large shed structure at the nursery in Cardington. This space was earmarked as their coffee shop/self-service and proved a marvellous place to set up a small display of work and for us to man it in turns and paint/ sketch on site.
The challenge was to find a subject I had reasonable confidence in achieving in the space without looking too incapable under public scrutiny. These tulips seemed sensible in the context of the garden centre location and as they were similar to previous pieces, the production process should be familiar.
The only hiccup before site was that, the photo I’d taken some two weeks previously did not pro – up to the deep edged canvas I had chosen for the project. A quick rummage around the loft lead to the final shallow canvas I finally used.
The three hot days in Cardington allowed for the piece to be traced on, and colours filled in to a substantive degree. Final detail work took place back at my studio in Luton. I was drawn to the shapes of the leaves and the menacing detached red flower heads. Looking down on the subject matter made the orientation ambiguous.
As with so many pieces, the liveliness of the initial stages is somewhat lost when striving for detail and accuracy. I do, however, retain a fascination for the intertwining shapes which I feel deserves depiction.
398mm x 600mm (canvas size)
Interactive Acrylic on Canvas (in white floater frame)
£230
Exhibited at the Eagle Gallery members exhibition (25th June - 28th July 2018)
Exhibited at "The Butterfly and St. Paul's", Eagle Gallery, Sat 11th - Sat 18th May 2019
Exhibited at Optimis office Bedford Sept 2019 - Jan 2020
Exhibited at Wished for at Christmas 3, The Workhouse, Dunstable, 9th December 2020 - 16th January 2021. (closed early)
Exhibited at "Today is a good day", The Workhouse, Dunstable, 14th April - 8th May 2021.
So, one might assume that “Cardington Tulips” would be a depiction of tulips found in Cardington. Well in the spirit of ‘fake news’, the less romantic reality is they were actually indigenous to the bottom of my back garden in Luton. A large amount of the actual painting, however, did occur in Cardington.
To understand this better, I should explain the genesis of this painting. In May 2018, The Eagle Gallery undertook a series of open studios by its members as part of the “How we do it” exhibition. The stragglers (not that local to Bedford or with a painting facility/ house not so suitable for public visits) consisting of five others and myself, took over a large shed structure at the nursery in Cardington. This space was earmarked as their coffee shop/self-service and proved a marvellous place to set up a small display of work and for us to man it in turns and paint/ sketch on site.
The challenge was to find a subject I had reasonable confidence in achieving in the space without looking too incapable under public scrutiny. These tulips seemed sensible in the context of the garden centre location and as they were similar to previous pieces, the production process should be familiar.
The only hiccup before site was that, the photo I’d taken some two weeks previously did not pro – up to the deep edged canvas I had chosen for the project. A quick rummage around the loft lead to the final shallow canvas I finally used.
The three hot days in Cardington allowed for the piece to be traced on, and colours filled in to a substantive degree. Final detail work took place back at my studio in Luton. I was drawn to the shapes of the leaves and the menacing detached red flower heads. Looking down on the subject matter made the orientation ambiguous.
As with so many pieces, the liveliness of the initial stages is somewhat lost when striving for detail and accuracy. I do, however, retain a fascination for the intertwining shapes which I feel deserves depiction.
Artist out in public!