This is my latest painting, which is entitled ‘Up and Down South Stack Steps’. It’s an imposing triptych painted in acrylics on 3 large cradled panels (see picture below for an idea of scale). It’s painted primarily from memory in an effort to recreate the experience of descending South Stack‘s 400 steps.
The panels represent stopping at various points down the steps, gazing up at the vertigo-inducing cliffs of Holy Island, then soaking up the beauty of the low sun burnishing the quicksilver sea, before clambering down to experience the thrilling sights and sounds of the roiling waves in the narrow channel between Holy Island and Ynys Lawd.
It was inspired (once again) by David Hockney’s theories on alternative approaches to monocular/photographic paintings with a single viewpoint. Each panel is intended to encourage the viewer to feel that they are able to look in multiple directions both within each panel, as well as between the three panels (which, hopefully explains the title being ‘Up and Down…’ rather than ‘Down and Up…’) The ultimate goal is to induce a slight feeling of vertigo, as if one has been tied to a ship’s mast.
I hope to submit it for inclusion in the Art for All competition in the Ucheldre Centre in Holyhead where it will be on sale for £1200 (EDIT: price adjusted after *ahem…* ‘advice’ from my wife…) The exhibition opens at 5pm Thursday 20th July and runs until 5th September so please drop in as there will be a wide range of work on display by a number of artists.
In the meantime, please see the image below for an idea of the scale of the work.
