Ambresbury Banks

A circuit of Ambresbury Banks in Epping Forest, an ancient earthwork built circa 500BC. According to local legend it was the site of the defeat and death of the great British Queen Boudicca at the hands of the Romans in AD61. The Iron Age banks and ditches formed an enclosure used as a cattle fold. Nowadays it is overgrown with beech trees and was covered with a carpet of leaves and beechmast when we visited. A series of lovely undulations striped by tree shadows in leaf filtered light. Continue reading “Ambresbury Banks”

Frames of reference

Hojas De Otoño

Autumn leaves in the Jardin de Principe in Aranjuez, Spain. We were driving from Madrid to Toledo and stopped here for lunch and a walk in the park. This garden and the adjacent Jardin de la Isla were laid out around the royal palace of Philip II in the 16th century, 200 years before the present town was built. They became the inspiration in 1939 for the Concierto de Aranjuez by Joaquín Rodrigo. Continue reading “Hojas De Otoño”

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Keats Leaves

A walk on Hampstead Heath and the amazement of finding myself suddenly in the middle of another autumn produced the new series of prints. Actually it is not a new series. The new prints became part of the Regency series. After all these years I still find surprising the way prints create themselves almost without my help. Continue reading “Keats Leaves”

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Corr Blimey!

I love this picture. It reminds me of a ‘fayr feeld ful of folk’ from Piers Plowman. Christopher Corr made it for a client from London now living in Washington. The brief was to paint the view from Parliament Hill with all London’s landmark buildings plus Gospel Oak lido and running track. He cleverly reversed the viewpoint so we’re looking back down on this earthly paradise. Click on the image to enlarge it and explore it in detail. The painting measures 106 x 74 cms. Continue reading “Corr Blimey!”

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A London Panorama

This is Claes Visscher’s Panorama of London in 1616. Click on the image to enlarge. It is a rare hand-coloured Victorian facsimile of the original engraving and is over two metres long. It is shown here courtesy of Peter Harrington Rare Books. I discovered it via Peter Berthoud.

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Battersea Power Station

Christopher Corr painted this picture for Dominic. Unfortunately whenever he looks at it Dominic feels sick. Hopefully he’ll get over it, or at least down the side of it. He is planning to throw himself off the top of it on Sunday. Please offer your support and words of encouragement here.

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