After 10 years off the water I have spent the autumn and winter of 2023/24 in the coaching launches following crews from Thames Rowing Club up and down the river. It's been a joy to be back in the bubble. These paintings are my response to those trips. My work might connect with you if you're one of the overachieving, overthinkers who gravitate to the river to find your version of peace...
Movement is your meditation. Whether it's been 10 minutes or 10 years since you were last in a boat - I hope this work reminds you how it feels to have your fingers hooked ready to catch the weight of the water; shoulders broad, the stretch and steel in your lats, lower spine lifting to protect your back; quads anticipating the drive and the soles of your feet ready to spring.
It's a meditation in a moment, the memory of the movement... and then the pin-sharp, ice-cold drops of water hitting your sweating skin. For rowers, that's what joy, and peace, can feel like. And if you can't get to the river, sometimes art can do the trick too.
The series will be available on my online shop throughout 2024.
Endless Saturdays (or Pink Boots) - RESERVED
This painting reminds me of the time I was in a renegade coxed four, of stealing a boat (melodramatic), going to Scotland to win Nat Champs in a photo finish, drinking champagne on the train home. The theme song of this adventure was Eminem/Lose Yourself. All because one of the crew used to wear pink boots (or is that just in my memory...). Acrylic on wood panel, 2ft x 3ft
Why I wake early
An acrylic painting on 2ft x 3ft deep wood panel. The general faffing-about of rowers at sunrise. Endless..
Step up into the light - RESERVED
A laidback late summer heatwave. Glorious sunshine, no imminent regattas. Just messing about on the river and crew chats in the sun. Acrylic on slim wood panel, 894x591cm (A1)
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