‘April is the cruellest month’ wrote T. S. Eliot- Tom to you and me- in 1922. Red hot May would seem to be a new contender, while June, the old summer favourite, has seemed not to be sure of itself. So, hello July’s climate change and Manchesterism..
One way and another, I’ve somehow drifted into the slow lane. After painting samples last year of the Twittens and historic buildings (the Needlemakers, Lewes Arms, and Harvey’s Yard) in lively Lewes, I’ve been limited, plagued or blessed, by what’s in front of me: invasive new estates contending with enduring local landscapes of trees, fields and the Downs. Half a dozen new paintings are the result: 3 of the fields ‘The Muttons’ – 5 minutes from my home and 2 from a walk across the Downs to nearby Glynde and back. I hope you like them. The theme of pathways in earlier work and of moments, sequenced in time, are still with me, as you will see. Next, what else but the direct challenge of depicting a radically changing landscape!? Peter.
