Lambley Viaduct

This painting is of Lambley Viaduct, part of the South Tynedale railway from Alston, Cumbria to Haltwhistle, Northumberland. The railway line was a significant development for the history of Alston, and ran through the beautiful North Pennines. Today the narrow gauge railway runs from Alston to Slaggyford, and is accompanied by a beautiful walk all the way to Haltwhistle. I make my work from a combination of first hand observational drawings and paintings in the open air, backed up by photos as aide memoirs back in the studio, as well as imagination to produce a final piece on canvas using mixed media, a combination of oil paint, non-recyclable plastics either collaged or ‘soldered’ onto the canvas, and pastel.

I want people to enjoy my images and to perhaps re look at their own environment through a more vibrant lens, but then on closer inspection to discover the different materials on the canvas and ask questions as to why I use plastic; why it is there. I want the discovery of plastic on the canvas to be as subtle as it is in the environment – not really understanding its greater impact at first, but when given the time to contemplate its wider effects, to think beyond the surface, beyond the beauty.