Brighton Pavilion Finials and Domes: An Artist’s Studio Moment

Print description

This print depicts a scene of the interior at my art studio, a city rooftop view, and a figure. Framed by an open French door, you can see the mossy rooftops of Bond Street in Brighton, as well as the finials and domes of the Brighton Royal Pavilion Gate and the Dome in Church Street. In the foreground, you can find myself, feet up, lost in the act of drawing.

In this scene, I’m surrounded by my everyday objects—some merely decorative or functional, while others reference and define my work as an artist: a collection of antique books, a signed print of the chalk cliffs, a drawing pad, a ceramic vase I decorated with dragons, and a Pilea peperomioides, or money plant, which was a gift from an art colleague

I have been a member of my art cooperative, sharing a space at @studiogreenhouseuk since 2012. This print serves as a graphic record that encapsulates all these years.

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).

Domestic Interior and self expression

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