Landscapes are alive with a visual history that speaks to us through the buildings, monuments and everyday life of urban spaces as well as through the battlefields, rivers, mountains, mythical and magical places of rural settings. The history of Spain dwells in its landscape, creating a pictorial narrative of both ancient and modern times. I’ve begun a new series of paintings that explore the history of Iberia through its landscapes, and I’m aiming to make twelve to fifteen pieces in oil and mixed media on board, often with a metallic acrylic underpainting, which is a favourite technique of mine. They are not conventional but symbolic landscapes, inspired by medieval paintings that have linear vertical or horizontal narratives.
My progress so far consist of three works, firstly, a 48” x 36” landscape of Toledo in Castile, inspired by El Greco’s extraordinary, dramatic painting of the city, his only known landscape. I first visited Toledo as a student and was struck by its multicultural, multireligious history reflected in its churches, mosques and synagogues. I’ve used a similar composition to El Greco’s, but with very different content and colours. View the gallery >
The second historical landscape is of Gibraltar, where I was invited to talk at the literary festival in 2017. It’s an amazing place. I took the cable car to the top of the Rock, and looking down over the coastline of southern Spain, I had a strong sense of what the Muslims must have seen when they arrived on its coast in the year 711 AD. Gibraltar itself is named after Tarik ibn Ziyad, their leader, who went on to conquer the Iberian peninsula. View the gallery >
The third painting, on canvas, visits the world-famous city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northern Spain, the destination of the pilgrim route from southern France. Galicia is a region of mists and myth, famous for its legendary dragon and the infamous Wolf Queen. View the gallery >
The current work in progress is a large landscape of the city of Seville on board, with a metallic gold underpainting.
