An Artist on the Terrace of De La Warr Pavilion Looking out to the Sea with a Cup of Tea and a Cake

Print description

The train line from Hastings to Brighton runs through beautiful coastal landscapes, with a special stop at Bexhill-on-Sea, where you can visit the De La Warr Pavilion and watch the sun go down from the terrace with a cup of tea and a piece of cake. I’ve made this trip with joy on many occasions, and once, in a quiet moment of solitude, I took out my sketchbook and thought it fitting to record this moment

It will be forgotten unless recorded—such is the fleeting nature of genius. Haven’t you ever had a new idea, only to forget it minutes later? This is the central theme of this art print: the urgency for the artist, whoever they may be, to capture that spark of inspiration before it fades. Whether through writing or sketching, the artist must record it. What follows is hours or even days of practice, exploring whether that fleeting idea can be shaped into a new work of art. Through experimentation and persistence, the journey continues—but that, of course, is another story.

Print details

To create this print, I start by crafting individual drawings in ink, which collectively form a collage comprising the final piece. I scan my drawings and digitally add colour. The original design solely exists in digital format, and I print it using archival inks and paper. I then release my design as a limited edition print, available in standard ‘A’ sizes, ranging from A0 (84.1 cm x 118.9 cm) to A4 (21 x 29.7 cm).

People and Places Revelations of Love

This work echoes many different sources, from Vuillard’s colourful depictions of the domestic patterned interior, many of which I saw at Pallant House Gallery in 2022, to the Alekos Fassianos Foundation, which I visited in Athens during the summer of 2023. Also in a mental periphery I can think of Ben Nicholson still lifes with his everyday objects; or Gwen John interiors, specially one exquisite painting ‘La chambre sur la cour’ that depicts an balcony

The human figure in a scene

I have been running life drawing sessions in Brighton for many years, and the depiction of the human form fascinates me. Through this piece, I aim to express both my personal experiences and the environment where I live. So the inclusion of a figure is very important, referencing one of my living art heroes, artist Louis Fratino, with his modernist cubic contemporary classics. It also draws inspiration from a recent exhibition at Studio Voltaire in London, that featured a pairing of works by Beryl Cook and Tom of Finland, held in the summer of 2024

De La Warr Pavilion

The architectural competition

The new seafront building was the result of an architectural competition initiated by Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr, after whom the building was named. He had a clear view of what the design should be. For the Pavilion function and appearance the Earl specified the following: ‘It is the intention of the promoters that the building should be simple in design, and suitable for a holiday resort in the south of England. Character in design can be obtained by the use of large window spaces, terraces and canopies. No restriction as to style of architecture will be imposed but buildings must be simple, light in appearance and attractive, suitable for a Holiday Resort. Heavy stonework is not desirable […] Modern steel framed or ferro-cement construction may be adopted.’

The Architects’ Journal in February 1934 announced the building competition, with a programme that specified an entertainment hall to seat at least 1500 people; a 200-seat restaurant; a reading room; and a lounge. Run by the Royal Institute of British Architects, this competition attracted over 230 entrants, many of them practising in the Modernist style.

The International Style

The architects selected for the project, Erich Mendelsohn and Serge Chermayeff, were leading figures in the Modern Movement. The aesthetics employed in the International Style proved especially suited to the building, tending towards streamlined, industrially-influenced designs, often with expansive metal-framed windows, and eschewing traditional brick and stonework in favour of concrete and steel construction. Amongst the building’s most innovative features was its use of a welded steel frame construction.

Construction of the De La Warr Pavilion began in January 1935. The building was opened on 12 December of the same year by the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth).

Modernist visits to the Bauhaus in Dessau

In the summer of 2019 I visited the Bauhaus in Dessau for which I adopted a ‘modernist look’. This looks achieved with a half button short sleeve shirt and a pair of round framed glasses. These glasses were the trademark of Walter Gropius, who was the founder architect of the Bauhaus in 1919. Modernist glasses for a modernist building!

Print collection Pebble Beach

This print belongs to a tonal collection that I have named ‘Pebble Beach’.  The colour palette reflects on the variation of colours and tones of the pebbles found along the Sussex Coast. Some of the pebbles are flint, a hard grey rock found in the chalk cliffs. Through natural erosion, the cliffs release the flints . Slowly the rocks make their way through to form the pebble beaches.

Current history

In 2002, after a long application process the De La Warr Pavilion was granted £6 Million by the Heritage Lottery Fund & the Arts Council of England, to restore the building and turn it into a contemporary arts centre. Work began in 2004 on the De La Warr Pavilion’s regeneration and a transfer of the buildings ownership from Rother District Council to the De La Warr Pavilion Charitable Trust. On 15 October 2005, after an 18 month long extensive programme of restoration, the De La Warr Pavilion officially reopened as a contemporary arts centre, encompassing one of the largest galleries on the south coast of England. (Wikipedia)