Paris, Jerusalem, and Accrington
La Rue Mouffetard, Paris
Pastel on board, 70cm x 50cm, on permanent loan. Full-size or reduced size archival-quality giclée prints available.
La Rue Mouffetard, or «la Mouffe» as locals call it, is one of the oldest streets of Paris, popular with tourists and locals. It has a permanent open market, just out of view in this painting. A wine bar on the street – La Verre à Pied – was one of the Parisian scenes for the charming film “The fabulous world of Amélie” (2001).
I arrived at La Mouffe early one Sunday morning, having arranged to meet some French friends with whom I regularly used to go travel sketching. The café had just opened for the day, and so I ordered a quick coffee and croissant while waiting. I started sketching and came up with the idea for a painting, which I completed in my studio on return to England, using my sketches and reference photos.
The ‘montage realism’ in this painting presented interesting perspective problems. Looking down at my breakfast on the table causes vertical lines to converge in a V shape. Looking up to the tops of buildings and the sky causes lines converge in an A shape. I decided to ‘correct’ the lines looking up, and make them all vertical. However, looking down at what’s under my nose I felt that I had to respect the vertical perspective. You might notice that, downwards from the horizon line, I’ve allowed the lines of the window framing to converge.
On the actual painting, I made the cup and the spoon precisely life size which helps to bring the viewer into the scene. Someone told me she felt as though she could reach into the painting and pick the cup up. I like that!
Detail:
I have in stock a few full-size archival-quality giclée prints (on 280 gsm fine-art ‘rag cotton’ paper) of La Rue Mouffetard, price £140, not including postage and packing. Dimensions approximate.
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Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
Pastel on board, 100cm x 45cm, Private Collection (giclée prints available)
Click to enlarge
This painting is from the Tayelet (or Haas Promenade), a promenade and park to the south of Jerusalem, offering the best view over the whole of the city. In this large painting I have emphasised the buildings that are significant to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The big clear sky, with a wispy cloud developing in the ‘first heaven’, suggests the possibility of peace. This geography includes the Upper Room on Mount Zion and the place of Jesus’ Ascension from the Mount of Olives.
History records that Jerusalem has been destroyed twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, and captured and recaptured 44 times. In 1967, during the Six-Day War, Jerusalem was recaptured by the Jews for the first time since Biblical times. I pray that Israel is never destroyed or besieged again.
The title, “Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem”, is an oft-quoted line from Psalm 122.
Am Yisrael Chai.
Detail:
A steep street in Accrington
Graphite pencil on paper, 40cm x 30cm (sold)
I drew this picture in the 1990s. The cobbled streets in Accrington are no longer there. However, I am minded to search through my old reference photos I have of northern towns and cities, particularly my native Leeds.