Cuckmere Cottages Old Green Seven Sisters Cliffs Gorse in Bloom and Sea
£192.00
Description
Cuckmere Cottages Old Green Seven Sisters Cliffs Gorse in Bloom and Sea
Print description
This print depicts one of my favourite walks along the Sussex Coast. An iconic and epic landscape where the white chalk cliffs meet the sea in a unique ecosystem of man and nature. This landscape changes through the seasons and the weather. The bloom of the gorse indicates it is early spring.
My practice involves the creation of multiple ink drawings that are later scanned, and colour is added digitally. It follows a traditional printmaking mindset where the design comes first, and colour comes second. I am glad I do not have a signature colour; I love experimenting and exploring possibilities.
In this case, because I am having my second exhibition at The Grange in November, I have been studying the work of William Nicolson. Though I am no expert, this study may help as I explore with my experience to focus on his use of colour and composition. However, my head is always spinning with the work of other artists, such as Hokusai, with his extraordinary flowers and trees woodblock printing, or Samuel Palmer, with his luminescent, ethereal use of landscapes.
Often on my walks, I associate experiences with artists’ works. I find myself saying, ‘This is a very Ravilious’ subject,’ or ‘This harbour is very Julian Trevelyan,’ or ‘This pond is very Ivon Hitches.’ I see the world through artists’ work, as I find that I connect with art stronger than with the reality I experience through my senses.”
Print details
Panoramic format. Print size 124 x 30.5 cm approx. Signed print from a limited edition of 100. From original ink drawing to which I apply colour digitally. Printed on fine art paper using archival inks.
White Cliffs
With this design, I revisit one of my favourite subjects in my practice: the iconic chalk cliffs along the southern coast of England, overlooking the English Channel. This stretch of cliffs is situated between Seaford and Eastbourne in Sussex. Composed mainly of pure white chalk, these cliffs can reach heights of up to 350 feet (about 110 metres).
The chalk is formed from the microscopic skeletons of marine plankton that inhabited the ancient seas covering this area millions of years ago. Over time, these sediments were compressed and solidified into the chalk rock formations we observe today.
Sussex by the Sea
Have you ever taken a stroll in the South Downs on a day with large cumulus clouds billowing up into the sky? They tower over every feature in the landscape, reducing us to minuscule beings. The sun glimmers through the haze, and the cliffs, like spotlights in old-fashioned theatres, cast a blinding light.
The inspiration for creating this print also came during a group exhibition I participated in, showcasing four of my prints from October 2020 to January 2021 at Gallery 94 in Glyndebourne. The exhibition was titled ‘Fair Ground’, a theme that resonated with Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘Sussex’, which I quote below:
“God gives all men all earth to love, But since man’s heart is small, Ordains for each one spot shall prove Beloved over all. Each to his choice, and I rejoice The lot has fallen to me In a fair ground – in a fair ground – Yea, Sussex by the sea!”
