The Barbeque on Brighton Beach. The two Roberts

Print description

The print playfully reimagines the two Scottish artist-lovers, the two Roberts, sizzling sausages on a barbecue at Brighton Beach, with the crumbling charm of the West Pier behind them.

Print details

Print details

I created this print from my original ink drawings to which I apply colour digitally. Printed on fine art paper using archival inks. I issue the formats A1 & A2,A3 and A4  as limited editions of 100 where I individually sign and number each print.

The two Roberts. Robert Colquhoun and Robert Macbryde. ‘The Spectators’

Colquhoun was born in Kilmarnock and studied at the Glasgow School of Art from 1933 to 1938, where he met fellow artist Robert MacBryde. The pair quickly became inseparable, earning the nickname ‘the two Roberts’. In 1944, they moved to London and became part of the Neo-Romantic circle, sharing a studio with painter John Minton. By the mid-1940s, Colquhoun’s work had taken on a sombre, almost existential tone. His wild, often chaotic lifestyle gained notoriety and at times overshadowed his artistic achievements.

Life Drawing

I run a life-drawing class, and during the winter of 2021 we were unable to have life models due to lockdown restrictions. For this reason, our group embarked on a project of weekly Zoom drawing sessions, where we studied LGBT artists and their partners. Each session involved the challenging task of assessing the work of the chosen artist and reinterpreting both their art and their relationship with their partner.

I must admit that I didn’t have much knowledge of Robert Colquhoun and Robert MacBryde, though a common thread in our brief study was how strong and inseparable their relationship appeared.

I decided to portray them physically and intimately closer, with their legs intertwined, by extending an existing portrait in which they only appear from the waist up.

The image of a pair of tangled legs suggests lives that are intertwined—a couple existing as a unit. Today, such an image carries no consequences, but in their time, it would have been impossible to show, as gay relationships were illegal. This art print is a homage to their creative love.

West Pier

In 2019 I held an exhibition at the West Pier Centre where I showed my work. My interest for this charismatic structure is well documented in numerous prints where I have featured the remains of the West Pier. I am currently an artist in residence at the West Pier Centre.

Beach Art

This print belongs to the series of prints I have created under the name ‘Beach Art‘. This series celebrates people happily spending their leisure time at the beach. Swimmers, divers, paddleboarders and the occasional  tight-rope walker. Shimmering seas and bright sunny skies bathe with light these characters.

With a hint of nostalgia, these designs have my distinctive style and pay homage to the works of artists such as Robert Tavener and the New Romantic British artists John Minton and Keith Vaughan.   The West Pier appears in all the prints in the series. I created this series in April 2021 to mark the start of my art residency with the West Pier Trust.