Low Cloud Aqueduct.
The Pontcycyllte Aqueduct, Thomas Telford's masterpiece of engineering (pronounced Pont- ker- sulth- tay), has a lot to answer for. It is the reason Worthy Studios exists. It was a weekend dog-walking break that brought David and Jenny to North Wales, just an hour's drive from where they lived in Manchester. On the Sunday they visited the aqueduct and for an extra walk, they ventured into nearby Acrefair, where they saw, and fell in love with, the building that was (a year later) to become their home, and the home of Worthy Studios.
The aqueduct is less than a ten minute walk from the studios, it can be seen from miles around. The morning dog walk seems to always pass over it, or follow the river Dee that runs way beneath it. There is a magic to this immense construction, which changes with the seasons; a reassuring familiarity in the solid structure that defies whatever the elements chuck at it; there's also a sense of constant evolution, as the iron and stone take on different colours as each day passes.
It's hardly surprising that such a handsome edifice has become the subject of many of David's artworks since settling in the area. Here is the story of one such piece.
The blank canvas.
Where every piece begins...
I had been sketching the aqueduct from many different angles, mostly from below, that way I could emphasise the scale of the structure, I love the way the bold, man-made shape, slices through the landscape and sky.
But one cold morning around 7am, I was walking the dog across it and the low cloud that often drops into the valley, spread across the path. It was so thick in places, you could not see the end of the path, it was as if the path HAD no end.
In that moment the path and its canal seemed to turn into something else, something metaphorical, metaphysical. Like a path into the unknown, or into heaven... I knew then I wanted to try to capture that moment in a painting.
Roughing out
It felt a bit like an infinity pool.
Whenever I stand at one end and look along its 307 meter length, the vanishing point is so present, the straight edges of the railing to the left and the ribbon of water to the right, converge in perfect symmetry. The reflection on the water's surface looks like a slice of sky!
There is so much about this view that defies the artist to even attempt its capture. The uprights of the railing with their steadily narrowing gaps, the light and shadows of the water, that doesn't look like water, and then there was the mist, shrouding the whole thing in a beautiful uncertainty.
The first thing I did was try to nail the perspective, blocking in with a colour I often begin with; yellow ochre, followed by raw umber. These two colours feel to me, like the basic building blocks of the natural world.
Taking shape...
Next I wanted to tackle that railing. I loved the way the early morning dew had glistened on the metalwork, that gentle curved top-rail, made up of sections roughly six feet long, the uprights that looked solid, and yet gnarly, showing the scars and imperfections of over 200 years of wear and tear.
Increasingly, I felt, if I could crack the water in the canal, then the painting would be a success, it was a case of daring to resist trying to make it 'look' like water, it's more like trying to paint a mirror.
At this point I deliberately kept everything else vague, the landscape was not important right now.
Hidden detail.
Once I felt I had got the reflection about right, I started looking beyond the structure of the aqueduct, the trees either side started to take shape, although I knew they would be knocked back by the low cloud, I still wanted to include them
More colour, more cloud.
Nearly there...
Finished painting.
With a painting like this one, the challenge is knowing when to stop! I could have gone on and on, putting in detail, knocking it back, etc. etc. but there was a danger I would overwork it. I like to think I got it right...
But then again, I might just start it again from scratch, see what happens!
Prints, playing with colour...
Low Cloud Aqueduct, Blue.
A4 print in A3 frame or mount.
Low Cloud Aqueduct, Purple.
A4 print in A3 frame or mount.
Low Cloud Aqueduct, Original.
A4 print in A3 frame or mount.