TIM BAKER

I went back the next day to Box Hill after the group visit I was so inspired by Box Hill. In the car I’d seen some interesting views – several from the Zig Zag Road which mean I wanted to go back ASAP. Someone asked about a fort they saw on the way back and I saw a picture of an intriguing looking tower…But for now, it was a quick visit to the Zig Zag Road and nearby.

First was a quick watercolour and conte crayon walking up the steep bank from the bus stop. There was a massive log sitting on the bank – later it was moved to the side when I came back on visit #3 – had Hulk been by? I thought it might be a fairly anonymous place, but turns out it’s ‘Barrie’s Bank’ – as in J.M. Barrie of Peter Pan fame.

He came on a pilgrimage to see George Meredith and sat on this bank spying on the writer, then apparently fled when he came out! Later on Barrie became a journalist and had to meet Meredith for an article and they became great friends. I wandered past Flint Cottage on that visit and I saw his donkey’s shed, it’s still there.

It’s quite bizarre to find that the place I just thought looked interesting has such history. Also there is an art link – Meredith posted for the painting by Henry Wallis, The Death of Chatterton which I am very well acquainted with! The artist then ran off with his wife – oh the scandal!

Interestingly the 17 year old (?) Thomas Chatterton took arsenic, which is also what made the highly poisonous Paris or Emerald Green or Scheele’s Green the first of which I have mentioned online before (killer socks!). Wonder if Wallis used those green pigments in his painting?

Talking of green, the next painting got the comment ‘It’s very green’ from John:

So after what was basically a rest after the steep climb, I wanted to see some of the Zig Zag road, so walked down the hill and back up the other side. The sun was starting to go down, so there were wonderful shadows reaching like fingers across the hills. I settled down to finish another watercolour – a record so far, two landscapes completed in one day.

I had trouble with this one as it was colder now and the drying too longer, and piled in so much yellow into the shadow area as it kept bleeding across, and you can see the marks as I desperately try and make ANY line in the wet paint. Oddly it’s the brightest conte crayons that works best, I guess the contrast works better, hence you see the bright orange, purple and payne’s grey used. But if the paint is this wet and not drying, well it’s hard to get any mark at all!

I like it though, it’s very 1930’s/Paul Nash who like the other Paul, Klee is a big inspiration on my work. John said another of my abstract pieces was similar to John Piper and thought I might get upset. Not at all, I’ll take the comparison as Piper is a great painter and a seriously underrated one at that. I find it interesting how these things leak out though, I don’t think ‘ooh I’ll do a 1950’s abstract’ or ‘1930’s landscape’, it’s like all those influences are there like a big soup and sometimes they just rise to the surface.

I took these photos on visit #3, I forgot to take my camera on this visit but they seem to fit this post better. I don’t usually feature photographs here because I have other places that feature them but I guess the odd related photo won’t hurt.

I’ve been taking photos since the age of 8, and learned black and white photography, printing and developing during my degree and also City and Guilds Level 2. It’s fun to continue that knowledge in the digital domain. I use a lot of my photo knowledge in taking the photos of artwork here, I am anal about trying to accurately represent my artworks which isn’t easy given the limited resources I have.

Ansel ’16 Shades of Grey’ Adams would roll in his grave, but you’ll be shocked to know I LOVE high contrast. I was marked down for it on my C&G in fact! Also I have been taking pictures like this of trees for decades, usually on film but digital too. But the twisted turning trunks seems to fit my current watercolour style quite well.