Spring Lambs in South Downs. Seven Sisters Cliffs from South Hill Barn

Print description

This print depicts spring lambs on the fields along the cliff edge path along by South Hill. Further down in the distance are Seven Sisters white cliffs and the rolling hills of the South Downs.

Print details

Limited edition print. 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.

South Hill

In April 2020 I did the walk from Seaford to Hope Gap. After the sharp climb of Seaford Head, this view appears with the imposing backdrop of the Seven Sister and the gentle hills of Friston Forest and Eastdean. That day the fields had an abundance of purple flowers: chalk milkwort, wild thyme, gentian among others. Spring lamb played in the fields and larks sung up high in the sky.

Often in landscapes I look for patterns and elements that repeat and repeat, with rhythm, a bit like music. This repetition creates a structure that I find very soothing to the soul. Sometimes recognizable landmarks appear. So in this print I show South Hill Barn, as an idyllic and remote farm dwelling and in the distance the Seven Sisters Cliffs with Belle Tout Lighthouse on top of Beachy Head.

Eric Slater and Arthur Rigden Read and Seaford Head

This print pays a homage to two artists that lived in Seaford and created a series of Japanese style woodcuts depicting the Seaford and its surrounds.  Friend and teacher to Eric Slater, Authur Rigden Read (1879-1955) was an internationally acclaimed woodcut artist who used colour to produce this art work from his studio in Winchelsea. He and Slater were both awarded gold medals by the Society of California Printmakers.

Seven Sisters Cliffs Early Spring

Have you ever been on a walk in the South Downs in a day with large cumulus clouds that shoot up to the sky? They dwarf any feature in the landscape and turn us into miniscule beings. The sun shimmers in the haze and the cliffs, like limelight in old fashion theatres that project a blinding light to the spectator.  Many artists have captured this light and their work is present in my consciousness during the art creation process. Among others I like feel drawn to past artist that have also dwelt and depicted the South East such as the contemporary images of South Downs landscapes by the Ivon Hitchens, or Samuel Palmer’s romantic landscapes watercolours of the cliffs, William Blake idyllic images of Felpham, Constable clouds of Brighton and Hove, Eric Slater and Arthur Ridgen soft Japanese woodblock prints of seascapes and seagulls. All these artists captured the light and essence of the South Downs and the Sussex coast.