From sea to shore and up into the dunes

From sea to shore and up into the dunes

I realised that the only cyanotypes from my new book that I have blogged about so far have been of the sea. As the book is called sea shore I thought I should post one of the shore. In fact, this is the last image in the book.

I think of sea shore as the visual story of a journey. It begins in stormy seas, travels to calm, shallow water, and eventually ends up in the dunes. The trip is punctuated by two beautiful poems written by poet Sara London.

One aspect of this project that I have particularly enjoyed is the bringing together of imagery collected over the years from many times and places. The locations are not the important factor for me, though. It is about the universality of sea and coast, not the specifics of place. I photographed these sand dunes on the coast of Belgium seven years ago, but it could be any sandy coastline swept by wind and water.

Sea shore is a collection of 29 cyanotypes and two poems in a signed and numbered first edition. If you are interested in buying a copy, you can now pre-order directly from here. I am currently hand binding the books and delivery will start after 14.09.2021.

If you are in Lewes in September, I hope you can come see my Artwave show. It is venue 91, St Anne’s House, 111 High Street, Lewes, BN7 1XY (across the street from Shelley’s).

I will be showing again this year with artist Kelly Hall. We will be open the 11, 12, 18, 19, 25 and 26 September, 11am-5pm. We will have original artwork, signed prints, artist books and greeting cards available to buy.

Don’t forget that all my hand-printed cyanotypes are available to buy. Information about purchasing my prints and books can be found here.

Manhattan Bridge at sunset

Manhattan Bridge at sunset

I have just come back from a big family gathering in Boston and a brief trip to New York where we spent the day walking for miles around the city. It was exhilarating, despite the penetrating cold and grey skies. We ended the afternoon by crossing the Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn.

The setting sun came out from behind dark clouds and cast crazy shadow patterns across the pedestrian walkway. It was a good thing, too, because walking through this dazzling view distracted me from thinking about my fear of heights and how high up we were above the East River. You can see more of my photographs of New York City and other townscapes here.

A city bursting with colour and pattern

A city bursting with colour and pattern

I was in Lisbon for a few days recently. Every summer of my childhood I spent a month in a small town nearby so I know the area very well, but it had been over 30 years since I had been there. This time I went with my teenage daughter, and together we (re)discovered the joys of this incredible city. Much about it has changed, but so much of it hadn’t as well. I found myself continually accosted by the beauty of this place.

It is a city bursting with patterns and colours. Whole building façades, entire squares even, are covered in the typical tiles called ‘azulejos’. Some streets run straight up and down the steep hills, lined at regular intervals with balconies, windows and doorways. Others slowly wend their way around ancient squares. The famous yellow trams offer a fairground ride of a journey through the vertiginous narrow alleyways of the oldest parts of the city. I can’t believe it took me 30 years to return. I definitely won’t let it be that long next time. More photographs of Lisbon can be found here.

The boats of Lindisfarne

The boats of Lindisfarne

A recent trip to Northumbria took us to Lindisfarne, an island joined to the mainland at low tide by a narrow causeway. On the beach of this remote and barren place was an extraordinary sight. The edge of the harbour was lined with large whale-like structures.

They were overturned fishing boats that had been cut in half, doors added across the flattened ends and repurposed as sheds. The graceful shape of the boats was accentuated by evenly spaced wooden struts that ran their entire length, making them look even more like beached whales. More photographs of Lindesfarne can be found here.

Happy new year!

Happy New Year!

I felt we needed a bright and breezy photograph to start the year off right and Florida can do that in bucket-loads. I am sure I could find some metaphor about clean fresh beginnings, but really, I just love

the photo. This was my laundromat experience on Key Largo while travelling with my mother and my daughter in the Florida Keys. I wish all laundrettes could be this colourful. Happy New Year to you all! You can find more Florida photographs here.

Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead

If you are not used to Day of the Dead symbolism, it can be quite startling. Throughout Mexico, and in Mexican neighbourhoods around the world, the skeletons that appear (in all guises and doing any number of antics) will not be for Halloween but for Día de Muertos. The festival lasts from the last day of October to the 2 November and is a time for family and friends to remember and celebrate their departed loved ones and help them on their spiritual journeys.

As I wandered around the Mission District of San Francisco last month, historically the Hispanic quarter, I spied many Day of the Dead preparations. I love the irreverent, playful skeletons. They seem so different from a more familiar avoidance of talking about death. You will find more cavorting bones and additional photographs of Northern California here.

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