Magpie Mine The Magpie Mine is probably the UK's best preserved Lead Mine. It was worked until 1958, with ground and shallow pit digging beginning as earlier as the 17th century, and the name is first recorded in 1740. It sits, alone in the Derbyshire countryside, surrounded by farmland, and a half mile trek from … Continue reading Magpie Mine and experiment
Tag: Industry
Last year I stumbled across the old Guest & Chrimes steelworks in Rotherham, part demolished in a wasteland behind the football ground. The site has inspired a number of paintings, and the first of these is Reflections on a memory. The painting is intended as a comment on the sense of loss and isolation that … Continue reading Reflections on a memory
The requistioning of horses during the 1914-18 war gave Sheffield's industry a considerable problem. The horse was still the main means of transport, including that of moving goods and industrial plant around the City. One company came up with an unusual solution to the problem; Thomas Wards, a scrap dealer, leased an elephant from a … Continue reading Back on the street
I viewed the news that the Republicans were threatening to withdraw from the Paris Accord and dismantle or scrap the Environmental Protection Agency with some alarm, and more than a hint of concern about what this might mean. Of course, I understand these are moted actions, and yet to become real, and I understand that … Continue reading The Wasteland of Your Desires
The Abbeydale Exhibition is up until December 31st, I have 5 paintings in a show in Rotherham, and an affordable art fair and exhibition to curate at the end of November, and a commission. What better time to start work on a new series 🙂 Unloading - Murmansk is the first in a group … Continue reading New Series
My next exhibition, and my first solo show since May 2014, goes up on the 24th October. Featuring 14 paintings done on site over my 50 day residency at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet in Sheffield, the show is the culmination of what has been one of the most interesting periods of my artistic career. The aim … Continue reading Abbeydale Reimaged
As I mentioned in my last blog, I'm currently doing a residency project. This is at Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet in Sheffield, a working industrial museum that was donated to the city in 1935, and opened as a museum in 1970. I am there 2 to 3 times a week for most weeks until October … Continue reading Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet
Rambling through an abstract landscape 