water colour – Page 11 – The Consulting Artist

Sten Guns in Knightsbridge : Diamond Jubilee

This is the first of two mixed media artworks I’ve designed to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

This is the first of two mixed media artworks I’ve designed to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. This piece is inspired by the song 1977 which first appeared on the B-side of White Riot by The Clash. The lyrics to the second verse of the song are:

“In 1977

Knives in West 11

Ain’t so lucky to be rich

Sten guns in Knightsbridge”

About the picture.

The design of the flag is based on the Union Flag, it is twice as wide as it is tall (38cm x 19cm) and all the other lines and angles are in proportion to the original flag. In the picture, the flag is depicted upside down, which indicates a distress signal. For me and doubtless many others, the punk movement was in a way also a distress signal.

The Sten gun was a World War II sub-machine gun capable of firing nine rounds per second, hence the nine letter k’s in Knightsbridge. The photograph in the picture is a terrace of houses in Knightsbridge and the song 1977 was released in (surprise surprise) 1977, the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee.

The picture was composed using water colour paints (Windsor Violet pan and Orange liquid), newspaper cuttings, inkjet printing and glue on mould made, acid free 300gsm water colour paper.

The photos below show the artwork in various stages of completion.

Learning to Paint – Sunny Splashes

I spent a sunny weekend in the garden up to my elbows in weeds. In between times I managed to grab a few minutes to throw some paint at some paper, whilst enjoying a sneaky beer of course! These four cards emerged, just reflections of a sunny day …

I spent a sunny weekend in the garden up to my elbows in weeds. In between times I managed to grab a few minutes to throw some paint at some paper, whilst enjoying a sneaky beer of course!

These four cards emerged, just reflections of a sunny day and some of the colours currently in our garden.

The cards were posted to friends..

Learning to Paint – Dying to See You

I was up very early this morning and having a go at tidying the office, man I’m so punk rock these days. I found a pile of bereavement cards sent to the family when Dad died. I stopped to read them and began to miss him. A lot. Then I spotted some…

Then I spotted something on Facebook that Neil Morrison had written about spending some inspiring time with visually impaired folk. My Granpa was blind and I do some work with sight loss charities so Neil’s comment resonated with me.

This sketch emerged from my morning’s ponderings. I guess it’s a mixture of bereavement, blindness, and a little of me too.