65. Dreaming of Yesterday
40cm high x 40cm wide
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
2014
£230 (£150 until Feb 24th)
Exhibited at Eagle Gallery Members show 1st December 1st - 24th December 2014
Rejected from Hertford Open Exhibition 3rd May - 16th May 2015
Exhibited at "Art in the Nave", Hemel Hempstead Friday 8th June - Sunday 10th June 2018
Exhibited at Eagle Gallery Members show 25th July - 17th August 2023
Exhibited at The Workhouse Winter Sale (31st January - 24th February 2024)
For some reason I remember the day depicted here fairly clearly. It was handing in day for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition a couple of years ago (Another unsuccessful attempt at fame and fortune!) I was returning from said drop off, and on a mission for the wife! I was hunting out a display of hats from a Luton born milliner in the Debenhams Oxford Street, London branch. As head curator lady at Luton Museums, I believe the mission was to purchase one of these hats for the museum’s collection as long as the price did not exceed £50. Unfortunately the hat display would not begin for another week, so I took solace in a cup of tea in the Debenhams in-store café.
It was here I was faced with a scene of shopping bags, coats and a variety of animated people. I rushed to get my phone out to get some clandestine photos. Not much time but I managed to get a few shots. I don’t think its always the best practise to base a painting on just a couple or three reference shots but I was so inspired by the patterns and composition in front of me that I felt I had to grab the moment.
I didn’t really alter too much from the chosen photo- straightened a few verticals, and removed a fire exit running man sign (we let them burn in Andrew’s paintings world). Ultimately I also simplified the window blinds – if that’s what they were.
Not sure what I think about it just yet. I feel it’s a very graphical subject and perhaps I should have lost some of the realism and flattened and brightened it up. But hey! This is what came out and I stand by it. Maybe another picture based on this one could explore these ideas at a later date.
The title evolved throughout the process. Could have been called “Debenhams café” or the like, but I quite like the idea of a sister piece for “Dreaming of Tomorrow”, another picture that gained its title near its completion. Next in the trilogy “Dreaming of a week last Friday” or maybe not!
Acrylic on canvas (framed)
2014
£230 (£150 until Feb 24th)
Exhibited at Eagle Gallery Members show 1st December 1st - 24th December 2014
Rejected from Hertford Open Exhibition 3rd May - 16th May 2015
Exhibited at "Art in the Nave", Hemel Hempstead Friday 8th June - Sunday 10th June 2018
Exhibited at Eagle Gallery Members show 25th July - 17th August 2023
Exhibited at The Workhouse Winter Sale (31st January - 24th February 2024)
For some reason I remember the day depicted here fairly clearly. It was handing in day for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition a couple of years ago (Another unsuccessful attempt at fame and fortune!) I was returning from said drop off, and on a mission for the wife! I was hunting out a display of hats from a Luton born milliner in the Debenhams Oxford Street, London branch. As head curator lady at Luton Museums, I believe the mission was to purchase one of these hats for the museum’s collection as long as the price did not exceed £50. Unfortunately the hat display would not begin for another week, so I took solace in a cup of tea in the Debenhams in-store café.
It was here I was faced with a scene of shopping bags, coats and a variety of animated people. I rushed to get my phone out to get some clandestine photos. Not much time but I managed to get a few shots. I don’t think its always the best practise to base a painting on just a couple or three reference shots but I was so inspired by the patterns and composition in front of me that I felt I had to grab the moment.
I didn’t really alter too much from the chosen photo- straightened a few verticals, and removed a fire exit running man sign (we let them burn in Andrew’s paintings world). Ultimately I also simplified the window blinds – if that’s what they were.
Not sure what I think about it just yet. I feel it’s a very graphical subject and perhaps I should have lost some of the realism and flattened and brightened it up. But hey! This is what came out and I stand by it. Maybe another picture based on this one could explore these ideas at a later date.
The title evolved throughout the process. Could have been called “Debenhams café” or the like, but I quite like the idea of a sister piece for “Dreaming of Tomorrow”, another picture that gained its title near its completion. Next in the trilogy “Dreaming of a week last Friday” or maybe not!