Spurn Point Wildlife Reserve Artist in Residence

The Churning Wind Inside the Lighthouse

2011-06-20T13:15:00.000-07:00

23^rd May 2011

Monday Afternoon

It’s very windy. From my usual vantage point as I sit at the uppermost level of the lighthouse, the south westerly is blowing though the brass vents as it has for one hundred years and swirls round in this inner space once trapped inside. There’s a lot of noise as the wind churns around the tower. It’s very loud actually. Louder than usual.

The paper of my note book is flapping as I write this. And I’m adding layers. The T-shirt I arrived in has been superseded by a fleece and scarf. The sunnies replaced by a hat and as soon as my bodily thermometre – my nose and hands – indicate, I’ll have to replace my jeans with my ‘Ron ‘ills’ and heavyweight waterproofs. I’m regretting not bringing my salapettes. I may have to resort to sitting in my sleeping bag before long.

The rain has followed the wind. I was planning to work outside on this trip. Hoping to do exteriors of the lighthouse. Oooo I could always go and repark the car and go sit in it. Good thinking especially if this keeps up and there’s no sunset or sunrise to be had. Oh well.

Yes I could have checked the weather before I came but I was determined to get here whatever the weather. Ok feet are getting cold I think it’s time to change from trainers to long socks and walking boots.

Monday Evening before sunset 8pm

The little red spiders are back. They can’t be money spiders as I’m still as poor as I was last year when I saw them. Despite the lack of an obvious food source they must be eeking out a living somehow. I like to think I’m contributing to their little livelihood with the occasional dropped crumb or other miniscule food debris or skin flakes - as they must be having little families because they are back at the Lighthouse this year.

When my old friend Martin who lives in Canada read last years blog, I think entitled ‘I am not alone’ which described my first close encounter with the same little red creatures – he told me that it reminded him of the Tom Hanks character in ‘Castaway’ who befriends a washed up football! Which I agree was rather funny and perhaps a somewhat accurate comparison but frankly I can’t see what’s sad about befriending a football.

Was going to write that the wind had dropped. But as I’ve started writing it’s suddenly started to blast. The rains stopped certainly. And by the looks of the sky beginning to clear I’m due a sunset but one never knows which way it’s gonna go. With the May sun setting at the horizon of Immingham/Killinghome oil refineries it will be filtered by the polluted air from the oil refineries on the Humber bank which I’ve observed gives a yellow hue. So bets on for an orange sunset

Sketch 1 Cloud bank same colour as sea.

First layer of land – grey.

Back layer orangey with outline

Sketch 2 Layer of land grey/violet

25^th May 2011

Wednesday 5.55am

Up at 4.30 to wait for the sunrise at 4.45am. It was a clear sky so as with the sunset and yesterday’s sunrise it was a globe. So not great from the perspective of the discriminating eye of the artist but great from a (ooooo dare I say it?) spiritual perspective. But I’ve written along the same lines before so I’ll try not to repeat myself.

Though watching the sun emerge from the sea is a very special moment and one that is rare in my life apart from when I’m here. So I discard my hunger and visual greed as an artist and just watch and be. And how beautiful. Beyond words especially beyond the inadequate verbal bumblings of a visual artist. I let it happen and allow myself to be moved in a silent, inexplicable, simple way which lasts only a couple of minutes before the sun becomes too powerful and starts to burn holes in my retina! It still gets me and will always foster intrigue and fascination. That the only time we can look at the sun with the naked eye is at those two periods of transition from night to day and day to night. At other times we squint from the suns intensity and we shade our eyes for protection. Occasionally through cloud cover we may see the suns globe but then the sun is small in comparison to the rising or setting sun and it’s white or silver like the moon. At the horizon she is fat and pink or orange or golden.

Today I watched the sun change colour as she entered the haze of cloud above the horizon. I watched the pink globe become orange as she moved into a hue of orange from a hue of purple. This was visually interesting. And although the sketch is rough and clumsy if I’d taken a photo Bam! The sun would be yellow and the sky orange.
But cameras do have their uses and are useful tools of reference. And after the sun became too intense, I dashed down the 140 steps to take photos of the lighthouse with the young sun.As I climbed through the sand dunes I came across a roe deer which spotted me and disappeared along the opposite path.
Obviously the photos never capture what the eye sees (the sky wasn't orange!) but next time I’ll be prepared with my chair, sketch book etc and set up shop in the sand dunes after catching the sunrise up here.

Oooo cannee wait to be back.

Commission casts new light on the traditional seaside postcard and new colour onto my palette

2011-05-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

As part of the Rennaissance Project for Cleethorpes three local artists Tracey Edges, Bill Meek and myself have been asked to produce the artwork for postcards. It’s great to have been asked to get involved and great that the traditional postcard format for a seaside town is being challenged. Rather than the mass produced, generic postcard of Cleethorpes Pier, which could be any seaside town in the UK, our postcards will offer a view through the subjective & selective eyes of three very different artists.

The three postcards I am working on are views of Cleethorpes at sunrise.
Sunrise 1 is the view under the Pier with the Fort on the horizon.
Sunrise 2 is sunrise and the Fort
Sunrise 3 is sunrise at the Boating Lake

Sunrise 1 - Sketch 1
The postcard commission is also challenging my practice in many ways. The work is more figurative and in particular I’m having a whole new palette experience! The orange spectrum colours in Sunrise 1 & 3 are clean, fresh and straightforward. Basically, an orange is lightened by a warm (cobalt) yellow or a cold (lemon) yellow. But the pinks! Wow! The pinks of Sunrise 2 are a whole new colour ball game. It’s difficult but exciting.

Sunrise 1 - Sketch 2

Sunrise 1 - Sketch 3 complete

Sunrise 1 - painting unfinished

Sunrise 1 - painting unfinished - detail

On this blog, I try to avoid referring to my life other than my life as a painter. But writing the blog has helped me realise a change in my work that is also reflected in my life and until writing the notes I was unaware of this parallel. Life reflecting art and all that. One’s work is so intertwined with ones life it is impossible to distinguish which is influencing which. I am entering into a crimson phase!

Sunrise 2 - Sketch 1

It’s funny because pink and purples are colours that I really enjoy and appeal to me in my life generally for example in my choice of clothing, flowers or living environment. This is a new development. I have moved away from the turquoise blue, the colour which was the inspiration for all my lagoon paintings (and clothing!). The blue spectrum I know so well that working it has become instinctive. I can recognise the subtlest difference and mix the nuance of colour without a thought having to register in my conscious/critical mind. The pink/purple spectrum is something I know very little about on the palette.

Sunrise 2 - Sketch 2

The colours emerging are rich, sumptuous & consuming. Back in my college days alizarin crimson was the only part of the pink/purple spectrum we were issued each term. There were loads of mucky browns and ochres but no passionate, vibrant, energising pinks or purples to be had!

Sunrise 2 - Sketch 3

Sunrise 2 - Painting detail - unfinished

Sunrise 3 - Sketch complete

Sunrise 3 - painting detail unfinished

There is a whole new world of colour opening up to me. Even the pigment names are gorgeously unfamiliar and descriptive. While the blue hues are as familiar as old friends.

Magenta lightened by titanium white is a rich pinky purple.
Permanent geranium and titanium creates a sweet candyfloss pink.
Rose madder and titanium creates the classic pink of the Pinks, a carnation pink.
Mmmmmmmm. So gorgeous I could eat-cha!!

Bless the weather…

2011-05-20T07:06:00.000-07:00

1st & 2nd April 2011

Blessed with good weather.

Blessed with good company.

Blessed with good sunrises and now clear blue skies.

I couldn’t wish to be anywhere but here at Spurn, at the Lighthouse.

It’s good to be back.

Scribbled Sunrise Spectacle

2010-10-08T08:40:00.000-07:00

Saturday 18th September 2010

9.20am
Well I’ll have to go home. Run out of paper. Had to use a discarded sketch to draw my last sketch. The sunrise was a real spectacle. Bit overwhelming and beyond the limitations of me and the pastels. But I had a scribble anyway. So I’d better pack away before I start thinking how sad it is to be going. Only three more weeks till I return. I’ll try to stay a little longer next time.

11.30am
Just stopped as I was driving away long this narrow lane to let traffic by and was compelled to write –
this place is very special.
Very special. I’m glad I had to stop so I could note this. Very special.
In a city, in the metropolis people say ‘you can be anonymous’. Here – in isolation I can be mySELF.

And It All Went Pink Over GY!

2010-10-08T07:34:00.000-07:00

Friday 17th September 2010

8.20am
It is a beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. A bit of haze to the horizon but the cloud that so strongly featured in the sketches at sunrise has been burned out white now. I can feel the suns warmth on my face. Mmm. Particularly good because there is such a strong off shore wind. I know it is off shore because I can see spray from the waves from the action of the wind. It appears to be trying to push the waves back but that pull from the old moon is too strong.

...like that!

11am
Am not alone! Don’t worry I’m not having one of my mystical funny turns! The flying ants are gone. Probably dead as there’s no way out apart from a couple of cracks in the glass as the desiccated pigeon up in the rafters is proof. This time I’m sharing the lighthouse with tiny red spiders. Not ‘mite’ the peril of tomato growers. Bigger and cuter than those! And funny as they appear very determined and in a hurry all the time. I think to children they’d be known as money spiders. Hope so.

The suns still shining. Oo good there’s a bit of cloud gathering.

It's all gone pink over GY!

7.37pm
And it’s gone. Five minutes earlier was singingthe R & B masterpiece (joke) ‘This is why we do it’! And now it’s gone all gone! The visual feast is over.

7.45pm
I’m quite overwhelmed! Just had five minutes just sitting. And breathing! I can breathe again now it’s all over! That was the best yet!

11.30pm
This cold clear night allowed me to observe the moon three quarters full. And it’s trajectory is really flat. It has moved along the points of the compass in my circular room from S to SW without hardly dropping. And it never reached high in the sky. About 45 degrees at it’s zenith.

Shame On Me!

2010-10-08T07:10:00.000-07:00

Thursday 16th September 2010
10.25pm I’m ashamed! I know virtually nothing about the cycles of the moon. Been sat here more than half an hour and the yellow half moon plus a day – just seems to be sat there in the sky. I still can’t decide whether it’s setting or rising. Just checked –it’s just east of a south westerly position so I guess it’s setting. But it hardly seems to be moving. Not like the rising moon I watched rising at my last visit which seemed to have shifted up every time I looked. Perhaps the trajectory is different at different stages of it’s cycle. This must be the case. I do know that the full moon rises when the sun sets and the full moon sets at sun rise. Though I must confess that I only discovered this when thinking about doing this residency. So in the mid winter when the nights are longest the moons night journey across the sky will take double the time it would in the mid summer. I love that the pattern is reverse of the sun.

But unlike the sun which tracks back and forth along the horizon steadily throughout the year I suspect the moon moves back and forth but over a period of one month which of course is the cycle of the moon.

I’ve got it. This moon, tonights moon is travelling across the sky on a very gentle angle. It doesn’t seem to be dropping because it’s travelling on only about a 20 degree angle. It’s shifting across the sky quickly but appears to gain nor lose height. The full moon I saw setting at the last visit seemed to drop in minutes.

Soon, in a couple of months I’ll have more freedom to get here to the lighthouse more frequently and I’ll be able to observe these patterns more closely I hope.
I’m pooped. Got to go bed.

2010-09-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Whoops pressed publish a bit too soon then !

2010-09-29T12:40:00.000-07:00

25th August 2010
Full moon ‘proper’ this morning. Was still above the horizon after sunrise. Which surprised me. By the time the sun had risen above the skirt of cloud on the horizon it only took moments before it was blinding.

Had a really good visit. Gets better each time. I become more fluent in working in the pastels due to consistently intense working periods while I’m here and increasing familiarity with the place/subject. I’ll be sad to leave as always. But I’ll be back!

Post Script
On my drive home I was happy to find a little stow away. One of the flying ants – found it’s way to freedom.

Where Is Everybody?

2010-09-29T11:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 24^th August 2010

5.46am

Why isn’t everyone here?!? Stunned at what I’ve just seen! Forgotten this was going to happen when I got up 10 minutes ago. My mobile phone alarm work me up at 5.30am and I noticed I’d received a text from my friend Rebecca in New Zealand. She’d ended the text ‘Watch out for the full moon!’ I looked out of the little window and saw a bit fat, pale pink moon just above the horizon as I looked across the river to Grimsby/Cleethorpes. Amazing.

Made a few scribbles but my camera not up to it.

Wait for the next show. My word coming here when it’s full moon is amazing. As the moon sank into the horizon the P&O ‘Merry Ferry’ passed through my ‘shot’! The street lights across the river cease to twinkle at dawn. It becomes a continuous strip of orange lighting just above the water line.

Received a text back from my friend in NZ she was watching the moon rise looking out from her back door. A clear cold winters evening in Wellington.

5.54am

Sun shifted loads along the horizon since I was here last month. It was quite funny because I was looking in the wrong place and then noticed the glow starting further to the right along the horizon at East North East.

6.04am

Sketch 1 – observed and sketched distortion at the horizon as the power of the rising sun burns out the straight horizon of the sea.

Sketch 2 – observed and sketched a distortion of the sun as it’s just about to emerge fully from the horizon. Reminds me of the omega symbol from the Greek alphabet. I can imagine that this is where the symbol derives. The ancient Greeks were a sea faring nation after all. I also imagine that this only occurs when the sun rises from the sea. It is like a circle with a flat bottom.

Sketch 3 – I like this – the sun has just cleared the sea.

Sketch 4 By this sketch the sun is becoming impossible to look at – only such a small distance from the horizon.

Just realised the sunrise and sunset are the only times when we can look at the sun.

A clear sky at sunrise (and sunset) doesn’t make for a great painting but it’s great for the soul! Not great for the artist but great for the ‘human’ in me. An affirmation of being a conscious being, that awe and those feelings of insignificance business … with or without an observer the sun will always rise and has always done so and will continue to long after we are gone etc etc. Unless you are a fisherman, Humber pilot, farmer or a milk man, it is a rare opportunity to see this for us mere mortals. So for all those reasons it’s great… but it doesn’t make for a great painting!

I wonder if milk men have a spiritual/religious wobble each morning on their milk rounds. I like to think so.

Technical note – Important use reverse side of new paper when priming for next trip. Too much texture. No good.

Draw initial sunrise sketch in red, crimson or orange. Not purple.

10.30am

The Eurofighter boys are playing their wargames in the heavens.

10.45am

Cloud chaos out there this morning. Far too complicated and fast moving for me!

11.55am

Blasted by rain from the West. The wind is making whistling sounds like a kettle on the boil and I can smell the sea as I’m blasted by cold air. Inhale Inhale!

12.10 am

Well totally enveloped in cloud. Blasted by rain. It’s that inside out fishbowl phenomenon again!

Afternoon

It’s been a pleasure to get out all my ‘blues’. All my blue Sennelier oil pastels that is, which have been boxed away since the Cook Islands. Just remembered I had downsized my carrying sketch box for ‘landwork’ or rather landscapes local to my home. Now I am back ‘at sea’ out they come. It gives me colour precision when sketching to have so many blues. Though I’m confident I shant be needing my turquoise blue, phtalo turquoise and light turquoise. They can remain boxed away sadly. I remember now that that turquoise blue was what inspired me to sketch the lagoon. As simple as that. That colour moves me.

I think I’ll have to invest in all the greys Sennelier produce and develop a new appreciation for this subdued colour palette. Sennelier do an English Grey which makes me smile. The Prussians have their blue, the French have not only marine but ultra marine. But as greys go English Grey is a pleasant grey! I think they should produce a North Sea Grey.

The North Sea has a distinct hue!

Aint No Sunrise...

2010-09-29T10:57:00.000-07:00

Final sketch after the sunset last night
Monday 23rd August 2010
Wall to wall low cloud and rain. There aint gonna be no sunrise. I was warned by a couple of reliable meteorological sources namely Andy the Warden and my mum. And they were right. Noticing the direction of the rain pouring of the roof I’d surmise the rain’s coming from the North and the increased noise indicates the rains getting heavier!
Oooo looking westerly there’s a mucky pink glow on the cloud wall – like the colour of cloud when it’s snowing.

But hey who cares! I’m here. I’m dry and I’ve got the kettle on for my first brew of the day. And despite the low visibility there are still subtle cloud formations to be seen. Perhaps I need to learn to do subtle!!
As I tried to explain last night before giving in to the land of Nod not only is Spurn Point unique but being in a Lighthouse is a unique rare experience too. As an opportunity to work it is unrivalled in my experience and I lack the imagination to think of anywhere to beat it. I’ve heard that Maestro David Hockney is working from the Pier at Bridlington and I’m sure he has wonderful conditions to work in, luxury in comparison, but it doesn’t beat a 360 degree view from a lighthouse.Here at the top of the lighthouse there are no walls. I can look at the sea and sky (or cloud and cloud as it is today) in three hundred and sixty degrees. I look up and see sky above my head. Last night I realised this as I sketched the jewelled sky in the west but every few minutes checking I wasn’t missing the moon rising from the sea.
Open views 360 degrees upward too.
What a wonderful opportunity and how rare to be able to see the sun rise and the sun set and the moon rise and set. And the building itself, this lighthouse of course being a tower is cylindrical, not a box so when a look out, wherever I look, the horizon appears an equal distance away. I can’t explain this…! I am in a circular building and… This is the first time I’ve ever observed this. Now let me try to explain…! Usually when we walk through the world our view is obscured by buildings, trees, land form etc we very rarely have a clear view. I am high up here with a clear, uncluttered view. I am in a circular building and I can see 360 degrees. I have noticed for the first time that one can only see into the distant horizon only so far (I don’t know how far, it doesn’t matter) But that distance is equal, the distance one can see is equidistant. Therefore from this point, where I sit in the lighthouse, I look out and I have a circular view. Normally this circular view can’t be seen. appreciated or witnessed. Urgh I must stop trying to explain. I’m going round in circles!! Hah! Am I stating the obvious? Has everyone always realised this but me?
10.20am
Here comes the sun diddle diddle
Just sat here about to start sketching as the sun has lit up the sea and I’ve just noticed scary currents about 500m from the shore. At that point the wave pattern is travelling in the opposite direction to the prevailing wave movement. There is an ellipse, a horseshoe is formed by white tipped waves (white horses).
My camera wont take an effective photo to show what I see. Ooooo it is a bit sinister. The way the waves are travelling in the opposite direction to the rest of the sea.

Aint no sunrise but a nice sunset!

We Are Not Alone

2010-09-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

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Sunday 22^nd August 2010

Evening 7pm

Here! Though am not alone in the lighthouse. I’m sharing the space with what appears to be newly emerged flying ants! Though they aren’t flying and are quite dopey. Hope they don’t bite.

Just remembered I left a jar of hot chocolate here. Ah simple pleasures! And my mum’s raspberry sponge cake M Mmmm ! Thanks mum!

Midnight.

I’ve been keenly rewarded by an amazing sunset. Again it crept up and surprised me. I never can tell what’s going to happen. There was a lot of cloud at the horizon. The pink band directly above the horizon intensified as I sketched becoming a deeper crimson. Then the sun unexpectantly started to appear at the base of the cloud wall slipping down and entering into the crimson band.

It is so exciting to see and to watch. And during those moments I feel so lucky, privileged, blessed … I don’t know what’s the word, like I’ve been allowed to take a peek at Tutankhamen’s jewels or something. And perhaps because I’m here on my own it’s like a big secret that I only know about. Like sneaking into the British Museum after hours or something (or wherever King Tut is these days!) It is such a rare moment. And I scribble my vain attempts to capture what I’m witnessing.

It was visually interesting to observe the distortion of the sun as it was sinking into the horizon. The sun created a curve in the line of the horizon obviously because of it’s intensity.

It was great to see the reverse of the sunrise - the suns orb sinking rather than rising.

After the sun disappeared I eventually made out the faint vertical and diagonal lines of the Humber Bridge. I was stunned! The sun sank behind the bridge! It’s a shame that no one was here to witness this with me. The flying ants weren’t interested! I have never seen the bridge from here before. I didn’t know it could be seen. As the sun was setting the orb of the sun was too intense and burned it out. But once the sun had sunk away the bridge was faintly silhouetted. I really couldn’t believe my eyes. Anyway I quickly added a few lines of what I could see onto my first sketch.

It was funny though. All this was happening in front of my eyes but eyes in the back of my head would have been useful! I am really aware that it is nearly full moon and what little I do know about the moon cycles is that the full moon rises at the same time as the sun sets. How amazing is that! What symmetry in nature. I have never seen the moon emerge from the sea. So I am two days away from a full moon. Every few minutes I would have a quick glance round to check if there was a moon.

This circular 360 degree glass tower is sooooo perfect. I can’t believe how lucky I am. The sun rise, the sunset, the moon rise, the moon set etc all from one spot.

Gotta go to bed up at 5.30 am.

Humbly I sit and stare in awe

2010-08-17T13:26:00.000-07:00

Tuesday 6^th July 2010

First sunrise with the full orb of the sun – rather than just tantalising flashes of intense colour through rips in the cloud.

It’s very special. And those first few rapid moments of the sun emerging from the sea have to be watched. They can’t be wasted by grabbing the right colour. Even looking down to record what I’m seeing wastes too many precious moments.

I must be brave and open that heavy solid iron door and go out on the balcony to draw the sunrise in future. Just for the pure clear view rather than though the glass which has only been cleaned by the sea spray and rain for the last 100 years! There’s not too much wind howling around the tower today so it would have been a good day. But I realised that after the event of course.

It feels good at 6.20 in the morning to feel the warmth of the sun on my face.

The only downside to the sun presenting as an orb is that once it has crept up a few degrees from the horizon the orange/white light changes and the blasting intensity of it’s all powerful light intensifies as it quickly rises. Then the blue blotches appear in the vision and I remember I need to protect my eyes and on with the sunglasses! Or I go blind!

9.40am Just counted seventeen ships at sea looking in an easterly direction.

Tuesday Night 1030pm

How lucky I am! A really great day. Orb sunrise and an amazing sunset. I was merrily sketching the sky after the sun had dropped behind a wall of cloud which had some horizontal breaks in it of orange and pink – when the whole thing erupted as the orb of the sun exploded into view instantly changing everything before my eyes defining every curve of every cloud. It was a vast complex mass of colour and form. Far beyond my limited means to record! I find that when this happens I have to humbly sit and stare in awe as Nature displays her glory.

It was unexpected. The day to end in such a blaze. The sky had hazed and clouded over not long after sunrise. And the sun shone intermittently. It was a warm day and I had to leave the tower and go down to the cool of the beach. By seven o’clock as I left the beach rain threatened. There was no indication of the awesome spectacle to come later. Perhaps I will start to recognise a pattern over the coming months and know how to see a good sunset coming hours before it happens. For my purposes, I know already a clear sky is unwanted. I always want a bit of cloud. This adds colour and form and breaks down the strength of the suns blinding intensity. Otherwise you just can’t look at the sun without the risk of damaging the eyes. Which is too great a risk. Anyway. Last morning tomorrow. Wishes for a good sunrise. I’ll be sad to leave as before.

The simple life I've always wished for!

2010-08-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

Monday 5^th July 2010

V Nice sunrise.

Being here brings me clarity. The world falls away and I am free of distractions.

No distractions. No family to visit, no friends to entertain, no meals to cook, no house to clean, no nipping to Morrisons for something nice for tea, no emails, no post, no appointments, no nothing. My focus, my ‘reason to be’ is to paint. It is me at my best. Just me, what I see and a simple means or recording it - the age old eye-hand-paper!

Perhaps this is the ‘simple life’ I’ve always wished for!

However on my first proper visit with all my world packed in my little fiat I did tell Andy the YWT Warden ‘I’m gonna live here’ his reflex response was ‘No ye not’. We played verbal ping pong for a minute ‘Yer I am’ ‘No yer not’ ‘Yer I am’ ‘No ye not’ til I gave in! I think that’s only the second time I’ve heard the man say No.

Like a fishbowl with the water on the outside!

2010-08-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday Morn 19^th June 2010 4.40am

It was never going to be a great sunrise this morning.

Something interesting started to happen in the sky when a fog like cloud of rain crept with stealth across the river from the West and has swallowed up me, the lighthouse and the view! There is no horizon to be seen at all along my 360 degree window. This morning it is like a fishbowl with the water on the outside. Nice and dry in here though. However this is my last morning. And though my bed tempts me back I may as well start packing up now. Get the kettle on the old trangia. When I woke I did feel a little sad to be leaving. Actually the rain has cleared really quickly (in 10 mins) so I may get something.

Another sunless sunrise!

2010-08-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

Friday 18th June 2010
Was up at 4am. A sunless sunrise!

Painting Notes - Use pastels and oils. There are no ‘rules’. The important thing is that I manage to record what I see and with sunrises that means with speed.

Even with all the 18 colours laid out on my palette and I ‘know’ my palette so well, the mixing takes valuable time. Then there’s the choice of brushes, for different colour, then there’s the choice of how to apply the paint – a lot of turps or a little etc etc. There are too many decisions to make with too little time. So despite gearing myself up to use oil and preparing 30 little hard boards to paint on over the next three days – it just didn’t work. It takes too much time to ‘do oil’ and with the subject changing before my eyes and being so fleeting and ephemeral as the nature of the sunrise is I will have to return to my tried and tested means of pastels for ‘speed recording’. This is my usual practice to take those rough sketches back home and build them into big polished paintings over time.

I’m going to keep the paints here and the next visit bring a large board A1 size and use that to do a more considered slowly drawn painting of the headland which I can work on on sunless days like today.

A day like today there’s no drama in the sky (apart from the ungodly screeching of the Eurofighters out doing target practice at Donna Nook and doing a right turn at the lighthouse) a thick blanket of cloud covers the sky with no holes to let in a bit of drama in the form of light pools on the sea. Nope! Just a reliably constant blanket of cloud. Though the winds picking up so the cloud may be pushed away. I’ll try working on the prep’d boards in pastels but I’ll need to prep some paper for next time. Friday pm
I can’t believe how many ships are dotted around the horizon and that come up and down the river and indeed enter and leave Grimsby Docks which can be seen from here. Being familiar with the view across to Spurn from Grimsby and Cleethorpes and further along the River from my house up on the Wolds, a steady stream of ships can always be seen. But to fully appreciate how busy the River is the open sea needs to be seen. The view today isn’t so clear but I can count at least ten ships. The Humber Pilots who are stationed here have 2 or 3 little boats with huge engines and they seem to be in constant use.

It’s finally brightening up.
Here there is space and light to fill my lungs, heart and mind. I can’t think of any place better to be at this time in my life.

Keep your nerve marymary!

2010-08-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

Thursday 17^th June 2010

Was up at 4am. Very disappointed with the results. Tried to use oil on board and it just wasn’t gonna happen. My time here is so precious and the sun rise so momentary I can’t blow it by making the wrong choice of medium. Use what works. Use the tried and tested method!

Painting Notes - Definitely draw with coloured pencil first. Just to get a quick idea of form and especially the horizon and cloud form. Do not lose your nerve marymary! Keep the whole surface clear of everything other than art materials.

New Artist In Residence : Mary Rogers : Keyholder to the Lighthouse!

2010-08-17T07:23:00.000-07:00

7th May 2010

It’s official! I have my own key to the Lighthouse and I have taken over the blog from Steve Allbutt. Thankyou Steve. I am the Artist In Residence for Spurn Point for the next 18 months! YES! Andy Gibson YWT warden has kindly extended the residency from a year to 18 months. Thankyou Andy! Due to a necessary ‘life quest’ I have to undertake which will distract me from my path to Spurn but I’ll be here as often as I can be. It will make me more determined to be here!
Sitting at the uppermost level of the Lighthouse...

Second trip up here today. The first time on my own. It is awe inspiring and quite overwhelming. The 360 degree view and the height gives a unique perspective and is different to anything I’ve experienced before. Being high up I can see cloud patterns and more sea! Also there’s the unusual land form of the peninsular stretching North with sea either side. And looking south west the land terminates and is surrounded by sea. Although I have been asked if I was a homing pigeon in a former life (!) I don’t actually have a compass in my head. I know that I am looking south west and north exactly because below the 360 degree glass window there are marked the points of the compass which I imagine came in handy in days before satellite navigation for obvious reasons. It’ll come in handy for me as I will be able to observe the rising sun shifting along the horizon over the coming months. And I will have a sunset over Grimsby – my home town!Now I’m up here I think my initial impulse to focus on the sunrise was a good one because there is so much sky and so much sea one could become dizzy with it! It’s not only a circular view but above your head and below your feet could send you crazy with confusion as where to paint and where to start. It will take the pressure off as I’ll have two blasts of intense working periods at start and end of the day and then a lighter freer time to observe and perhaps do longer observational studies such as the shape of the headland or little quick studies like the patterns of the tide on the shore or birds flying, figures walking along the beach, the ships waiting to enter the river and I may even venture outside the safety of my glass bubble!
It’s very strange though I have noticed the tide is coming in on the sea – side of the peninsular but going out on the river - side.

What is embarrassing though is that until I came up to the lighthouse for the first time this morning I was certain there was a light in this lighthouse, that it was still operational. Mmmmm. Didn’t admit it to Andy though. He has quite a ‘particular’ sense of humour and wouldn’t have let that one rest.

Can’t wait to get started!

I am so lucky to get this opportunity.

Post Script: My observational skills must be rusty. Rest assured the sea is going out on both sides of the peninsular. Mmmmm!

The plan is to set up a studio here at the lighthouse. This will be my base for working during the residency. There really is no place on this little planet I would rather be at this stage in my life! Ahhhhh the Lighthouse at Spurn Point.

This is the end, in pictures

2010-05-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

Photographs by and of James Brian

Block Pebbles (4 steel gabions filled with a variety of stones from either shore)

Groin Strain (found objects)

Framing Spurn (stainless polished steel, wood frames. Educational facilitation)

For Ever & Ever (Steel gabion plastic bottles collected in 30 minutes from the beach)

Empty Shells (plaster slip cast bullets in abandoned military facility)

24 Carrot Heritage (shotblasted and gold leafed railway chair 1892, railway chair left expossed since 1892)

Either/Or

2010-04-25T02:03:00.000-07:00

The wheel comes off

2010-04-22T07:38:00.000-07:00

I spent the last two weeks running all over London getting metal engraved and then welded together as well as picking up Frame mouldings spray paint and glues. In the middle of the week I went to see family with Jamie and even took work with me to do in my fathers garage.

After dropping off Jamie on the Saturday night I spent the rest of the day in the studio completing the frames and stands ready to take to Spurn in the morning. Once at Spurn at around 11am following a brief stop in Hull to source more materials including lighting tape and spray I met two of Andrews assistants who informed me there was no Andrew due to him being stuck in Poland because of the volcanic ash. Several phone calls later and several trips up and down the point I finally managed to locate the spare set of keys for the lighthouse.

I spent the first part of the day spray painting and then cleaning up the frames, leaving them in the Nisan hut for Andrew to do with what he wants on his return. I had hoped to put them into the ground this weekend but with him being in Poland meant this was not possible. I resolved to leave them for him to decide.

Once inside the lighthouse I got to work sweeping out the first two levels followed by taking all of the plastic bottles the gabion and the light to the first floor where I played with the arrangement for some time and concluded I needed more bottles but that it would work once the windows were covered up. I measured them up and left as it was now 6pm and I was hungry and tired.

The following day I managed to fill 50 sandbags in the artillery building as well as strip back some of the bracken covering the door and remove some of the litter covering the sand. I need to think about this space a little more and how I will present the bullets. I did a reconnaissance as to the best rout to bring the bullets in through and concluded that the distances were the same in either direction but that bringing the bullets in via the road up to the Pilots station would be the smoothest route.

Upon leaving the Point I heard a squeaking noise that briefly came form the axle area, but as I was passing over the temporary road I thought nothing more of it as it stopped once on smooth ground, the following night at midnight as I returned to London I was just hitting the M25 when my front drivers side wheel baring exploded and my wheel sheered off. I was lucky to get the van to a stop unhurt and lucky there was no one else around at that time on the motorway. I finally arrived home at 3am on the back of an AA recovery van. Not the most successful end to the week.

Wet & Wild

2010-04-08T09:28:00.001-07:00

Got up early and started in the Light house at 7.30am. heavy rain to start the morning followed by Strong winds for the wrest of the day. Had many visitors all of whom were grateful for the shelter.

Several visitors mentioned a dear outside asking if he was mine (haha). The dear had also been around the day before.

In the end I managed to make a further 4 bullets bringing me to my total of 13, I hope its not unlucky as there are no spares. I tidied up got all of my equipment out then treated myself to visit to the top of the Light house. I had forgotten just how many room there were, how many steps and just how magnificent the view is. The building seems even bigger once up at the top. The added height above the beach on top of the dunes amplifies the feeling. i counted myself very lucky to be there at that exact moment alone at the top of my light house.

Lighthouse information point

2010-04-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

I spent the whole day in the lighthouse making the bullets and receiving guests. It was quiet in the morning due to the rain but then became very busy in the afternoon.

I went to fill up with water at the RNLI depot and bumped into the lifeboat captain who shook me by the hand slapped me on the back and said that he taught the stones were great and that I was welcome to do anything I wanted around the Lifeboat houses. I explained it was probably a bit late. These kind words got me through the wrest of the day while I received yet more guests, all of whom knew who I was and had heard about the bullets. It doesn't take long for news to travel especially when the cafe is open.

Several people took my photograph while I was working one even stopping me and asking me to look at the camera, all rather funny.

Today I manged to make 6 in total leaving me a further 4 tomorrow.

Straight up start up

2010-04-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

Left London at 6.30am and headed north. After a couple of minor stops to refuel myself and the van I got to Spurn at 11, met Andrew ant the gate had a good chat in the spring sunshine and took the keys for the lighthouse. Andrew ind=formed that Adrian (previous artist) was on the Point but unfortunately I missed him.

Once at the light hose I swept out the lower level and then unloaded the van. Andrew arrived with two barrels of water and then went upstairs to lock off the stairway to the top.

I spent the next six hours making three casts and chatting to around two dozen people who all wanted to come in and have a look around. Everyone from families to foreigners to scousers. The last in the list asking me not to let any Everton supporters in (class).

I took a look up at the low light room in the tower and its perfect for the gabion light as its smaller than downstairs (obviously) and also painted in black, so I just need to block out the window light. At 6.30 I packed up and headed for the farm, where Andrew was in the Kitchen chatting with the owners Sue and Andrew. I turned down a cuppa in order to get out to the pub and a dinner that bit sooner.

Tomorrow will be a slog, but worth it.

Rain rain go away

2010-04-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

After I finished work on Wednesday I went to the studio to do some tidying up then home to eat. Thursday morning I went to Shoeburyness to collect all of the metal work for the stands and from there I immediately drove to Alain's workshop in Highgate to drop it off. Alain did a great price for all of the lettering (£100) on all eight box sections. I said I would drop off the prototype on Saturday when out with James, so that Alain could match the type set and style. Alain is the man to know and does amazing work for a number of artists as well as one off medical and government commissions.

Thursday night after taking Jamie to football practice I went to a friends open at Matt Roberts gallery on Vyner Street then home to send out invites and emails.

I spent the whole of Good Friday in the studio cleaning plastic bottles and filling the remaining gabion. I am somewhat short but this is not urgent. I constructed an inner cavity so that a light can be placed in the centre without touching the plastic. I used a fine metal mesh and wire I had stored in one of my treasure chests. I always feel smug when I finally find a use for some materials Ive had stored since I (usually) found them after someone else had discarded.

I took the steel mesh 1inch gage and 3mm wire and began cutting it into 60/60cm squares for the base of the stands. I used a jigsaw which worked better than I could have hoped for and once cut down the mesh went from being very flexible as seen in the pic to rather rigid, which is ideal.

I cut the very end off the groin I found so that it now stands on end. I wrestled with ideas about how to present this or frame it, flat piece of white board on the floor with the spike lying down or standing proud? on a white plinth? On a plinth made of found materials, drift wood and steel? I will try a few things and take it to Spurn on my next visit with the finished Bottle/ light/ gabion sculpture.

Saturday i spent with James and my parents. I managed to drop off the prototype and after dropping off Jamie I filled the van ready for the early start to Spurn at 5am in the morning.

A week at work

2010-03-29T03:56:00.000-07:00

In my periods away from Spurn I am usually in London where I spend some time in the studio and some time working in the city as a personal assistant to a lawyer.

I get my own corner office where I can do paperwork, order materials and draw up plans. This is a very useful time and space as it allows me to do all of the things that I can not do whilst at the Point or in my dusty studio with no wifi.

This week I have been finalising the designs of the stands with the metal supplier and placing the order ready for delivery later in the week.

I have managed to place an order for fine casting plaster from the Bethnal Green Travis Perkins depot (only one in London that seems to have it), draw up the email invite, sort photos and finalise images, of which these are just a few.

Realisation

2010-03-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

Started the day early and was once again blessed by calm seas and blue sky's. Between 7 and 9am I finished off the Gabions, just minor details using small stones to fill holes and cracks left by the bigger ones. I took some images and then moved up the Point to the visitors car park.

I went off into the thick brush to photograph the lager room I had found only yesterday. I have been coming here for 15 years and only found this room yesterday, this should give you some idea to just how overgrown and hidden by sand and thorns that most of the military ruins are. What you think are sand dunes or grassy hills are with closer inspection large rooms and hidden corridors, a vent here a door there, an old rusted periscope protruding through the undergrowth.

Once Id taken the pictures i went in search of drift wood, found some and headed back to the van (a long walk in the sand) It was on the way back to the van that I began thinking about all of the debris in the form of plastics that wash up at the end of the point in particular. The plastic bottles of all colours, some translucent and some sand-blasted opaque lying around at the high water mark. I decided then and there to use the bottles rather than the fishing twine. Maybe placing a bright light at the centre of the spare gabion and then surrounding it with the plastic bottles, playing with ideas of light, stained glass windows and human waist.

I took the refuse sacks out of my tool box and headed back around the point past the RNLI jetty. By the time I reached the end of the point I head filled 4 large bin liners with assorted plastic bottles. I returned to the van and then started work on the sea side of the point, once again returning with four large sack fulls.

I had done all I could do for the day and decided to leave hoping to catch Andrew on the way out.

I met Andrew at the Gate entrance to the point and we discussed opening up the lighthouse and using it as a studio next time I'm up as well as the final show and the situating of work in the large hidden room. We drove down to Andrews office together quickly and he gave me my old project folder so that I could retrieve some of the historical images that I had lost on my own disc copy, they may yet come in use.

I will return to Spurn in two weeks and look forward to working inside the light house manufacturing the bullets. I headed back to London via dinner at the Humber Bridge followed by Leeds and the Black Lab meeting that I attend fortnightly finally getting back home at 1.30am

One job ends and another begins

2010-03-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

I spent the morning from 7am collecting the last of the stones and filling the last cage. After wiring up the sides I took a step back and must say I was very happy. I finished the job by getting rid of any left over stones and bricks clearing up the van and having a short break. The time was now 11.30am.

I got wrapped up and headed out and over the sand dunes from the car park where the life boat cottages used to be. I took a tape measure note book and shovel. I spent some time going over and through the sand dunes looking for appropriate buildings to excavate but there was nothing that wasn't to small, to buried or to used as a toilet. I went further towards the end of the point and went around all of the sites I know of. Finally I came across a building/ room I don't think I had ever been in. The door was very overgrown but once inside the space was amazing. 8m/6m and tall with sand sloping from end to the other in a slow incline, windows and doors, so just enough light and just enough cover. The most important thing was however, that it wasn't full of plastic bags full of fisherman's waist and their was no digging require.

On the back wall next to one of the small doors was some writing amongst the graffiti NCO ARCEEF, i think? anyway it was an obvious mark from the military days of Spurn. I decided there and then that this room would look fabulous as a hidden, lost world of the military past. I wanted to do something sculptural using the sloping sand and objects placed in it slowly being consumed by the sand. I thought about the massive trench bullets I made several years ago, but this time only making a dozen or less and colouring them to make them appear to be made of metal.

I left the building and went out to the end of the point. I found some drift wood and decided to carry it back to the van. Once back I bumped into Andrew and we had a good chat about the Gabions and the completion process of the residency and my plans for the sand filled room. As always Andrew was a massive help and very positive, which after yesterday was just what I needed.

I spent the rest of the afternoon walking the beach picking up ropes and netting for the final gabion which I plan to turn into a table using the drift wood for the top. I could not find much flotsam but did stumble across the spiked point (only) of an old groin. I rolled carried, dragged and pushed the Spike up and over the dunes (where the defences are most shattered, huge slabs of concrete have been tossed about like beach balls and the massive groins snapped like twigs) and left it at the side of the road before retrieving the van and loading it in. The spike will make a perfect ready made.

I didn't manage to take many photos as my phone battery ran flat so I have included some images from previous years on Spurn as well as some video taken at the end of the Point 2 years ago during the summer.

"Not the coloured bricks"

2010-03-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

I arrived at Spurn at 11am and after chatting with Andrew I got to work on completing the cages. The point was bathed in sunlight and had many walkers rambling around. I was questioned several times about the gabions and what it was I was doing. I also met two art teachers from a college in Scunthorpe and they showed a real interest and wanted to know when the show would be on. I worked until 6pm then decided to call it a day, get a shower and eat.

Down at the Pub the Landlady asked me what I was doing hear again and I explained that I was artist in residence a Spurn, she looked all excited and asked "oh did you do that book of photos that's on sale on the visitor centre"?. I explained that the last artist did that. The landlady then asked, "you didn't do those coloured bricks did you", I looked confused and replied, "what coloured bricks" she said "that must have been the last artist." then walked off.

I don't think most people are going to like the stones, but they are yet to be finished so I will hold my judgement until then at least. I have already been playing with the idea of using a thin line of gold leaf to run across the stones and around the gabions to bring some reflective quality to the forms and also to tie them in with the Shoe and a common thread of protecting Spurns heritage. how practical this idea is is a different matter as I would be worried about the weathering of the gold, how long would it last even a very thin seem.

Some research is needed.

One part finished

2010-03-10T06:55:00.000-08:00

I must apologise for the continued grainy photos, I'm afraid I lost my camera and have therefor been using my phone camera.

I spent my third day on Spurn collecting and organising yet more stones as well as taking out half of those in the cages and reorganising, this time however I concentrated on smaller more interestingly patterned stones. I needed the smaller stones to fill in the gaps and holes left by using to many over sized ones.

I managed to complete two of the four cages and also position and part fill the second two cages. The weather was indifferent with a slight moment of rain but apart from this it fluctuated between wind cloud and sun.

I was satisfied by the end result of the first two cages and with a small bit of extra work with smaller stones filling in holes and with a couple of weeks with some heavy rain to wash the stone work clean I think the piece will slowly start to take on some life.

I left a number of stones still piled up on the grass, as at the very end of the day my back gave a telling sharp pain that Ive learned is a warning to stop otherwise spend a week limping or worse.

I managed to squeeze 25 hours hard work out of my 2 full days on the point and I need to carry on at this pace if I am to achieve all that I have set out to do.

Work

2010-03-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

Spent a long day (7am - 6pm) moving rocks from one place to the next. Over the beach into a pile, from the pile into the van, down the point, from the van onto the floor, from the floor into the bucket/ box lift and across to the tank blocks and finally out of the bucket onto the tank block then finally into the gabion.

I also emptied the two test gabions ad moved the contents over to the tank block area where I was working.

At one point I thought one of the gabions had been stolen but it later turned up in the hedge row, apparently taken by scrap hunters by mistake, apart from-this one highlight the day was one of graft and I am now rather tired. Still a lot to do however and the jury is out over the final work.

Back on Point

2010-03-08T12:22:00.001-08:00

After a very long trip back to Spurn (breakdown caused by fuel filter dropping off van thanks to the garage who serviced it this week) I had a chat with Andrew who was busily manning the entrance, taking money from all the visitors (and there were many) to Spurn. Cars were parked all along the road before entering the Point by those wishing to walk the length of the spit and once inside, the road was very busy with vehicles heading in both directions and day trippers and bird watchers stepping aside as we passed. All this activity was due to the magnificent weather, as you will see in the following photos.

I spent half an hour looking at the placement of the cages on top of the tank blocks followed by a visit to the two cages in the car park to see how they had weathered. The stones looked much better than the bricks as they had been washed clean by the sun and rain over the last month while the bricks looked unchanged. I decided then and there not to use the bricks, by themselves at least.

I am yet to fully resolve the layout of the cages in my mind. I was a little worried they looked lost in singles and a little forced when on top of each other. The placement and therefor the subsequent colour and nature of the stone work will be absolutely critical. I guess I will only resolve this by working with the cages and stones on top of the blocks themselves. A lot of trial and error lies ahead.

I spent the next three hours collecting stones on the Humber side and also on the sea side of the spit and pilling them up out of reach of the tide ready for collection tomorrow when I will begin working on top of the tank blocks

How not to use a knife safely

2010-03-05T13:53:00.001-08:00

I managed to cut my hand rather badly two weeks ago (5 stitches photo taken 10 days after accident) and so had to cancel my last trip to Spurn. I am now somewhat behind schedule but hopefully this is nothing that cant be made up with a bit of hard work.

I spent today building a plinth ready for the railway chairs to be sat on. I also took the opportunity of finishing the gold leafing of the sandblasted chair while my hand was injured last week.

I have also done some more research into the metal work for the stands and have got the final price down considerably. I will put these into fabrication at the end of this month ready to put on the point at the beginning of next month so that they will have several weeks on site before an official unveiling.

I spent a bit of (injured handed ) time compiling a satellite view of spurn made from Google map photos pieced together. I hope to tie this in (when complete) with the situating of work and also as a general purpose map/ guide for visitors. This is ongoing and the image below is unfinished (by some way)

Tomorrow I will be with my son and friends in London all day and then first thing on Sunday morning I will head to Spurn. I cant wait.

Father and Son shadowing day

2010-02-14T02:26:00.000-08:00

Spent the day with James in the studio and around town seeing friends in the city. Jamie helped me construct 2 gabions.

Blue skys and seas

2010-01-26T15:06:00.000-08:00

I spent my final day on Spurn filling the second gabion with Kilnsea stones and then wiring both gabions shut.

I left Spurn at 2pm but not before stopping to chat with Andrew who was collecting money from a fisherman at the high point on the road. We stood there chatting in what was unseasonably fine weather. Either side of us the road slipped down 20-30ft into the blue perfectly still clear blue waters of the Humber on one side and the calm sea on the other. The sky was reflected in the water and created the feeling that there was nothing but water on both sides as no land could be seen in any direction or horizon except up and down the narrow spit. The atmosphere was almost hypnotic. We both chatted and stood there, in the cool hazy sunshine as if in the centre of a mirage. It is moments like that which make Spurn so special. You often find yourself cut off from everything, including the weather. I will try to get back to the reserve over the next couple of weeks but I fear it may only be possible to go once in February. We shall see.

Andrew said that the high tides come at the beginning and end of February. Fingers crossed for all concerned that the road remains intact.

Stolen stones

2010-01-25T12:12:00.000-08:00

I started the day at sun up, I say sun up but it actually failed to make an appearance all day. A grey wet soup was the prevailing climactic conditions. I took a packed lunch with me, thanks to my hosts at the B&B and began by parking just down from the bird watchers cottages where the road side is nearly level with the beach and collecting stones of various sizes and colours ranging between black and white.

I had not been lumping stones into the back of the van for more than 10 minutes when someone told me I would be fined £2,000 for doing so. I had to explain why I was there and that Andrew knew. I was left alone for the remainder of the day.

I spent the middle part of the day wiring the cages together and starting to fill them with the bricks I had collected the previous day. It soon became clear I had not picked nearly enough bricks, so I padded it out with some of the sea defence squares I had salvaged.

In the afternoon I was visited by Andrew and Fiona Wier (from the YWT) and we talked about their plans to have an artist in residence at all of their parks and reserves running up to the summer with a view to having shows in the summer. I said I would do anything to help but for the meantime watch this space.

Andrew agreed to my suggestion of placing a gabion on each of the tank blocks further down the point and Fiona liked the information points/ frames.

I spent the second half of the afternoon picking up more bricks and stones as well as several more concrete defence cubes. I reinforced the the second gabion to stop it from bulging at the sides and tomorrow morning I shall empty the brick test piece and reset it all over again, then crack on with the Kilnsea stone gabion.

On the way back to the farm I came across a large dear on the road, unfortunately it scrambled into the bushes before i could get a photo. This is only the second time I have seen one on Spurn although their hoof prints are everywhere.

Hod carrying up sand dunes

2010-01-24T09:21:00.000-08:00

I finally made it back to Spurn late last night, 9:30 to be precise, after a day out in London with my son and the afternoon in the studio getting things ready. I spent the previous day chasing down my Gabions which I had been told would arrive in the morning and when they were still not there in the late afternoon I had to go out and find the delivery van (which had broken down) and transfer the contents over to my van.

I started this morning with a large breakfast and then got to work. I put up one of the gabions to get a feel for the size and volume, then set about collecting house bricks that had been washed up by the sea. How the house bricks will end up who knows but I need to start the process moving and take it from there, I have no doubt that this will develop beyond the bricks or even the gabions but for now I like the rounded pebble like bricks.

I collected one pile then moved on down the beach and started in another area. After unloading a tub full of brick I saw Andrew Gibson pull up to collect some money off the fisherman on the opposite bank, after catching up we discussed the gabions and some cautionary notes from Andrew as far as locations and contents, we also discussed the gold leaf and shot blasted railway chairs (not shoes). I showed Andrew the metal prototype of the Spurn Points picture frame. Andrew suggested some kind of stainless steal mesh base to help root growth around the base and to help anchor the stand naturally. We also discussed some minor changes to the text and wooden frame. We both agreed that the next stage was to produce the final versions.

I set about loading the piles of bricks into the van. I had to carry them up the sand dunes and into the back of the vehicle using a builders rubble bucket, it was coat, hat and jumper off work and as I finished the last load the sun came out and the sea dropped to a lazy calm. I took this as a sign and stopped for lunch.

In the afternoon I continued to collect more bricks, this time for the Humber side and further up the point, almost level with the Lighthouse. I also collected a number of the concrete squares used as part of the sea defences although I was unable to locate enough to employ them usefully (yet).

The van was now loaded with a considerable weight so I decided rather than put it under the unnecessary stress of a trip all the way back down the point I would instead pull up into the yard just north of the lighthouse and empty and clean the contents of the van leaving them in the open to get washed overnight by the rain that was now drizzling down.

On returning to my digs I used all of the remaining gold leaf to part cover the railway chair ready to show a couple of people tomorrow.

I think I have earned a pint and a pie in the pub tonight.

Workshops & Workloads

2010-01-14T13:13:00.000-08:00

I managed to get the railway shoes shot blasted and picked them up before returning to work in the city. I was very happy with the results. I had to quickly spray them with WD40 to stop them from rusting over once more. Close up you can see the pitted texture of the metal. I'm not sure yet whether I will leave them as they are or cover one with gold leaf. I will think it over during the next couple of weeks as here is no rush with this particular piece.

I went around north London speaking to engravers and all of them were completely useless and totally overpriced £80 for the following text to be placed on the first stainless steal box section for the frame stands,

1. 1m3 has same calorific count as a Mars bar.

I realised late in my week in the studio that I already knew a guy, Alain, who has a great workshop full of laser cutters, profilers and computerised engravers as well as machines for turning out all sorts of precision, bespoke machinery. I met him through Tim Phillips, an artist from my previous residency at the Florence Trust, who used Alains services extensively and I had been to the workshops several times before to help Tim move work.

I left the box section with Alain once we had entered the text into the computer and he said he wold have it ready for next week. He would have done it there and then taking 30 minutes but i had not bet on this and did not have any money with me ad little time, which was a shame as I would have loved to see the machine at work.

I spent part of the afternoon looking at Gabions and some sculptural uses. Next week I shall order a half dozen to take with me to spurn. The following images were just some of the results of my search.

Photos only

2010-01-10T06:24:00.001-08:00

Snow Joke

2010-01-08T08:56:00.000-08:00

The weather is terrible and not getting any better, its been difficult getting around London on foot and not much better in the van. I spent 10 hours in the studio between yesterday and today. I managed to clear everything up as well as unload the van and a load of equipment that I brought back down form the north.

yesterday I managed to get two of the railway sleeper shoes to a metal working company who will shot blast them clean ready for me to pick up next week before going back to work.

I had my metal delivered and started work drilling holes and measuring up. I need to buy some heavy duty tools. Hacksaws and files as well as new metal drill bits to complete the job on Sunday. On Monday I will drop the finished metal off with a welder and get the work done during the week.

I have been looking around for metal picture frames and I am finding it difficult to locate something close to what I'm looking for. most frames come in at around £30 and I'm not finding it easy to locate any frames that are anything other than a square box profile. I shall persevere however and also look at wooden frames. Maybe wood will be better and if vandalised made easily replaceable?

Anyway all stuff to think about. This week coming I will be ordering some Gabions ready to take with me back to Spurn. I need a new camera as well as Ive given mine to James (my son) for Christmas.

Happy New Year

2010-01-03T13:14:00.001-08:00

Following an extended Christmas break I am gearing up to return to Spurn at the end of the Month from Sunday the 24th to the followingTuesday. I have some steel being delivered in the week for a prototype of the picture frames, ive picked up my sandbags from the north and have been working on further ideas involving Gabions.

Check out Santiago Sierra

Paper Work

2009-12-14T12:07:00.000-08:00

Ive spent part of the week in the studio,not in the studio but on the phone and doing paperwork. Arts council funding applications, pricing, research and quotes.

I believe I now have a number of options as far as sourcing metal and getting it welded is concerned. Over the next few days I will visit a framers to get a quote on the pieces of the picture frame and then I will have to wait until the end of January before going all in dependent upon the Art Councils response, although this idea is only the first of many I want to work on during my time at Spurn

The following pieces of text/ locations are works in progress.

1. facing the humber - "Drains a fifth of England"
2. Looking into the mudflats - "1msq = calorific count of a mars bar"
3. (sea defence) The last Vikings departed from here
4. (Tank Ditch) "One of only two left in Western Europe"
5. on the beach - Wilibrod leaves to convert the Friezians
6. The only documented breach
7. High and low lights
8. Rail track
9?
10?

More work required and a further plundering of Andrews knowledge.

2009-12-10T15:03:00.000-08:00

Spent a little time on this in the studio today. I will leave it for a few weeks to see how it reacts with the metal, all things being OK. I will complete it or start again. I will shot blast one of the others in the meantime.

Back in the Studio and Back to Work

2009-12-05T12:21:00.000-08:00

Back at the studio I unloaded the van of the bits and pieces retrieved from different parts of the point and started by chipping off the concrete from one of the rail shoes.

I only had a couple of hours to work on all of this before leaving for a meeting and then returning to work the following day, so it would be the better part of a week until I returned to the task of cleaning these up.

The wood needs to be left to dry otherwise it will split, the shoes need to be shot blasted and then polished, I thought, possibly gold leafed and turned into an object of value? Something about the heritage of Spurn. As the policeman who stopped me on Spurn, whilst I was loading them into the van, said "you better bring those back, that's our heritage" and yet there they were lying in the bushes almost forgotten about, except by Andrew.

All of this made me think about Spurns heritage and someway of working with the idea of the museum, ordinary objects made into relics somehow?

Failed Structures

2009-11-30T08:13:00.000-08:00

I woke this morning to see a strong wind blowing in from the north and the forecast was for an overnight frost followed by possible snow.

I went out to the end of the point to try out a box for making columns, I wanted to see whether I could make a column out of sand as I had previously done with earth. It failed, but at least it kept me warm and busy.

I packed everything into the van and went to explore the ruined military buildings scattered around the point. There were some interesting rooms full with sand and as I had my shovel I was thinking about doing some digging.

It would be great to excavate one or two of these rooms and then place something in the spaces. Security is an issue however. I had spoken to Andrew about this before and he had said it would not be a problem as long as we could put a metal gate on the entrance to stop people leaving rubbish inside.

More investigation is needed, perhaps?

In the afternoon I went beach combing for sea coal and drift wood. I was struck by the different coloured stone and the possibility of doing something sculptural with them.

The wind picked up and as the tide came in I had to watch my back as the occasional wave would rush right up to me with some force. As I left the point I picked up some large iron railway fixings Andrew had in storage. I will take them back to the Studio in Hackney and live with them a little before deciding what it is that I want to do with them.

Steven Allbutt AIR 2009

2009-11-29T12:58:00.000-08:00

I had been to Spurn a number of times in the past. Ever since I lived in Hull during the mid 90s I have been returning to this unique, beautiful and always shifting landscape.

As part of the 1st year of my Fine Art degree at Leeds in 2004 I had worked on the point completing an art and community project. When Andrew asked me to return to Spurn as A.I.R I jumped at the chance of collaborating with Andrew and working along Spurns shifting coastline experimenting with ideas long held as well as those recently developed, following a residency at the Florence Trust in London.

The first thing I began work on was an idea put forward by Andrew about framing the landscape. Offering points at which walkers, bird watchers, day trippers, fisherman and local people could stop, look and take in points of interest. As Wildlife Warden, Andrews intimate knowledge of Spurns wildlife, geography and human history is an incredibly valuable resource, a resource that most people never have access too. The majority of people who visit Spurn will walk through over and around sites of great interest without ever having known of there existence.

I arrived at the point and met with Andrew who was busy with a huge fishing competition along the spit. We looked over and discussed my first prototype for he framing stands and came up with ideas for final materials, colours and sizes. I spent the rest of the morning walking Spurn photographing possible views to draw peoples attention to.

At one point a thunder storm rolled quickly over and I found cover in the abandoned Artillery position.

In the afternoon I retrieved a large piece of drift wood to take back to the studio. I used the comments being made by the fisherman as an excuse to make periodic stops.

At 3.30 I decided to make my way back to the Farm where I was staying as the sun was going down and the tide was coming in.

Artists On Spurn 2007 onwards

2009-11-29T09:52:00.000-08:00

Spurn Point is a fast disappearing stretch of the East Yorkshire coastline. It has been the greatest influence on my artistic endeavours for the last twenty years and my life since I was seven years old, living at Paull on the Humber bank.

A fascination with painting and drawing naturally led me to this raw spit of land where I started to record my impressions. A love of collecting and beach combing conspired to bring me to the artworks I create now. Through my art therapy work I am interested in the process of creating art and I have let that process take me where it will.

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My work is concerned with the elemental nature of existence and the transient form of natural and manufactured objects.

Importance is placed with the elemental effects on natural and manmade materials from exposure to the sea.

They are evidence of the power of natural forces to change this detritus into unique special objects of great beauty for their own sake.

Special objects? Why? When glancing at the pebbles on the beach, do we find an individual stone so personally exciting or uniquely appealing? Seeing the object through an artists’ eye I feel it stands for itself and should perhaps be displayed individually or as a collection, not altered or used to create a pictorial image.

A lifelong preoccupation with collecting and the nature of sequence and repetition cannot be separated from my work.

The form we occupy today as human beings is only transient and our desperate efforts to halt the process………. A reluctance to accept our own mortality?

The environmental artwork at Spurn relates to the stark environment, the groynes, the lighthouse, movement, the disintegration and destruction, the ebb and flow, the organic nature of the space, a homage to the creative force Spurn evokes in me.

The items were all gathered from one particular stretch of coastline, Spurn Head in East Yorkshire, a fast eroding and disappearing peninsular.

Martin Waters

For a more in depth look at Martins practice and his time as AIR at Spurn please click on the following links

www.martin-waters.co.uk

martinwaters.blogspot.com

Adrian Wynn Artist In Residence 2009

"Spurn Photographs 2005-2009"
61 photographs of Spurn Point, part of the Heritage Coast of Holderness and a National Nature Reserve. In colour and black and white, a selection of images is shown here.

Published by Contours 2009. A4 landscape format

Available from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust at Spurn and online, and some local bookshops. Available in Sheffield from The Old Sweetshop, 1 Nether Edge Road S7 1RU.
Order here for £14.99 including UK postage and packing by clicking on the cover image.

http://www.adrianwynn.com/

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust & Spurn Point

2009-11-29T09:38:00.000-08:00

Please click on the following links to find out more

Spurns Nature & Spurns History