A painting very close to my heart.

This was part of an open call exhibition for the 2019 Lewes ArtWave, exhibited in Newhaven as part of an artist’s organised open call. I had 2 works of art exhibited in that year’s ArtWave festival. This beauty and another artwork as part of a curated exhibition at The Depot in Lewes.

Sitting by The Dock of The Ouse. 2019.

Acrylics, enamel, silver guild, oil pastels & graphite.

I grew up in Lewes, my family had a steel business based near Newhaven and as a result, much of my childhood was spent in and around Newhaven. Many a summer was spent fishing from the harbor, beach, and messing about on boats up and down the Ouse.

I hadn’t been back to Newhaven for many years (I fear decades) when the open call exhibition came up so Jason & I headed over there with the kids in the early summer of 2019. On the day we visited it was a glorious summer’s day and the harbor was busy with industry, the marina, and locals making the most of the weather. I took lots of photographs as we wandered from the town center, along the Ouse, and nearing the beach. I hadn’t gone with any preconceived ideas of what I was looking for, I mostly don’t with my works of art, I trust that something will come to me and I’ll run with it. We stopped at The Hope Inn for a packet of crisps and a pint (heaven) and that’s when I saw the scene I painted.

Actually, there were people in the pictures I took and the observational sketches I made but the narrative I decided on didn’t need them so I made a decision to focus on what I felt was important.

Upon returning home and after a few days I started to research Newhaven. Knowing more about a subject, place or person helps inform me of its history, and whilst I may not include physical objects that nod towards it, the marks I make are absolutely informed by the research I do. This artwork is no exception to this. The beach-hut on wheels in my painting has been preserved and maintained in Newhaven since the late 1840s. Still sitting by the Ouse it has links back to when Newhaven first had the train-ferry to the port which brought great activity. The area then became known as the 'new haven', officially recognised as 'The Port of Newhaven' in 1882. The beach hut, then known as a bathing machine, was used as a changing room that could be wheeled nearer to the sea to preserve modesty. It was in my photographs and sketches and I had always intended on keeping it in the composition but it was only when I was amidst a struggle with the hut in the painting process did I dig deeper into its relevance and found that I had to keep it in (and struggle on with it!).

Newhaven harbour was designated as the principal port for the movement of men and materiel to the European continent during World War 1 and was taken over by the military authorities and the ferries requisitioned for the duration of the war. Between 1916 and 1918, the port and town of Newhaven were designated a 'Special Military Area' under the 'Defence of the Realm Regulations', and the Harbour station was closed to the public.

During World War 2, large numbers of Canadian troops were stationed at Newhaven, and the ill-fated Dieppe Raid in 1942 was largely launched from the harbour. I had never known that the port had such a symbolic reference to the wartime efforts and so I decided to try and include a subtle nod towards its war efforts in the way I applied my mark-making. I have been in love for a long time with a particular painting by the émigré artist Walter Nessler, ever since I saw it at Pallent House, Chichester.

Walter Nessler, Haverstock Hill, c.1938-9, oil on board, Pallant House Gallery (On loan from a Private Collection, 2006)

I could spend the rest of my life with this painting and never grow tired of it. There is so much sadness and sophistication in the way Nessler use a camouflage like approach in putting the paint down on the board. The subtlety of his approach to colour makes my heart sing. For me, the work has both appreciation and acknowledgment of the great losses and destruction created by times of war and yet I also see a path to hope, to lighter and brighter times.

And so, as I learned more about Newhaven’s rich military history, I immediately thought of Nessler’s painting and his approach to paint application. It absolutely influenced the way I made marks in the grassed area of my artwork. For my own art, I wanted a more integrated and subtle approach but nonetheless, I always had Nessler’s approach in mind. I think it’s why I love my Newhaven painting so much.

Narrative. Ok, so I am fully aware that narrative can be subjective, objective, not always obvious, and ultimately really only deeply meaningful to the artist creating the work. I have tried to create art without narrative but it doesn’t work (for me) I need to be fully engaged with the art I create.

Newhaven is close to my heart because of my links to the port, the observations I made on my initial research trip, and the many other times I’ve been back since. I have a strong feeling of endearment and respect for its significant environment nestled in the heart of the south downs. I wanted to highlight the juxtaposition of a hardworking port with human leisure and how we can live in and love landscapes that we work hard in. The container ship in the Ouse is loading used metal into its hold, the waste of humans. I used silver gilding to represent the precious resource of metals, working over the silver with enamels to give a tarnish to its appearance. Graphite was used to create the cranes and aerials in the artwork as I wanted a definitive mark that stood against the natural beauty of the south downs in the background. Most significant in this artwork is the windbreak. During filming Joan Bakewell asked me if I had placed this here for narrative alone. My answer was no and yes! It was there being used by humans, and it perfectly fitted and in fact influenced my narrative. Creating a buffer from nature, the wind, and the sun. A semblance of privacy created within a temporary construction in a public place. Just Beautiful. With a nod to the bathing machine being the same construct of humans, treasured by a community as being a significant part of its history. Nature always being depicted as the softest and most beautiful backdrop of the piece, the hard lines and bold colours of human interactions used to highlight the landscape and sea. I wish landscapes could talk and tell us the tales of what they have seen us do overtime to them… that would be the best narrative of all.

Green Tree Gallery has this piece and all of the works I created in the run-up to the heat that I shared on my previous blog post available for sale, contact Sam or Jill for more information and virtual viewing:
☎ 01444 456560 ✉ info@greentreegallery.co.uk

My Submission Painting