East Anglia 2009

The burnt sienna and violet hues of this distinctive palette define my reflection of the East Anglian landscape. The East Anglia painting suggests both a peaceful yet potentially stormy scene with the unique combination of colour. There are implications in the painting of a once vibrant fishing industry that has perhaps given way to something more picturesque. Yet there is still urgency in the drawing and composition of the East Anglia painting that pertains to something more vital. There is a wonderful tradition of landscape painting in East Anglia including artists such as John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough, and Edward Seago.

The driving influence to this painting is the tide. The low lying land of East Anglia is perhaps greater exposed to the sea as anywhere in Britain. I wanted to stress the low horizon lines of the landscape. This is about slippery wet mud of sand eels, worms and flocks of birds. More than in any other painting, I really wanted the sky, the land, and the sea to mirror each other; not just in terms of the colours but of the shapes.

As with all Uberpaintings, the long shadows in the East Anglia painting are an essential construct to the work. I use these heavily to provide a hint to continuity from outside the constraint of the composition. It must be recognised that in all painting as with the way we see the world, there are objects that influence the image we are looking at, without neccessarily being able to see them ourselves. So I want the viewer to imagine a larger landscape, their landscape, an Uberpainting must make the viewer work; on one hand being accessible yet are physically and metaphorically multi-layered.

East Anglia is steeped in ancient and modern history, from the Anglo-Saxon settlements of Sutton Hoo, to the long line of distinguished artists that have been inspired by the area. Norfolk is host to the Sandringham Estate, with 60 acres of gardens, set upon the wider country park of 600 acres of woodland and heath, open to the public.