Textiles and Life

Entered into the Quilter’s Guild challenge 2022.

From the Arctic to the Antarctic, the quilt depicts a snapshot of the world we share; its various habitats; and how it is affected by poverty, poor health, civil unrest, deforestation, warfare and the changing climate. A world held together by safety pins!

Textile group ‘By Design’ had to rely on ‘Zoom’ for meetings during Lockdown. Members took it in turn to choose a theme each month as inspiration for a 12 inch square using any technique. ‘Lunch’ and the following seven squares are some of my own favourite results. Eventually we hope to exhibit these little quilts together.

During a visit to Corfu in 2017, Paul and I discovered a decayed monastery - Agía Ekateríni - in a small forest close to the coast.

2018

2018

This piece comprises 9 separate panels. Size: 72” x 60”.

2016

I used a photograph taken from the International Space Station as the starting point for this piece. The Ural River, flowing through the city of Orenburg, separates Europe from Asia - defining the edge of two Continents. I have interpreted the photograph as a map with roads, streets, fields and forest clearly defined. Size: 40” x 24”.

2016

This piece is divided into three panels.

The central panel represents a small part of the National Memorial Arboretum in winter, where poppies were tied around the trees in memory of the fallen.

The righthand panel features Paul’s Grandfather, Hedley James Wood, who was a Bombardier in the Royal Horse Artillery and who was badly wounded in action during the early part of the First World War. Hedley is shown on his horse and in uniform, prior to his discharge from the army in 1918, and there are several cuttings from newspapers of the time.

The panel on the left features my father, Flight Lieutenant Jack William Pryke (a navigator), his pilot, their aircraft (a Douglas Boston), one of his navigation charts dated 1943, and a newspaper cutting about a mid-air collision which he survived. In the bottom left of this panel is an image of part of the Bomber Command Memorial, which stands in Green Park, London.

2015

A white daisy in a black pot, on a black and white background was the starting point for this piece. Horizontal slices were cut, mounted onto a blue background, and then moved about to form a pleasing ‘broken’ design. A red centre for the daisy and a narrow red border were added for contrast. Size: 47” x 20”

2014

2014

2014

2013

For this piece I have used a horizontal strip technique to create the impression of a view towards a distant horizon shortly after sunset.

2013

I found the inspiration for this piece in a photograph of high-rise social housing in Hong Kong, which left me with the impression of little boxes on top of one another, squeezed into a small space and reaching for the clouds. In the photograph, a red blanket thrown over a balcony provided a splash of colour. Size: 39” x 22”

2012

When I visited Sibelius Park in Helsinki, I was fascinated by a metal sculpture dedicated to the Finnish composer Sibelius. It is constructed from hundreds of steel pipes which reflect the sky and trees. I used a tree fabric, designed and made by the Finnish design company Marimekko, with Lutrador painted silver and cut with a soldering iron to echo the intricate patterns on the pipes. Size: 31” x 39”.

2010

Whilst visiting this beautiful island in the Ionian Sea, I photographed a weathered wall distressed with age and vegetation - the inspiration for this work. Size: 22” x 35”.

2010

The view from the lakeside house, near Helsinki, that I was staying in provided the inspiration for this piece. Overlays of coloured Lutrador were used in the background. Size: 34” x 38”.

2010

I found this colourful mural on a wall on the Turkish side of Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. Size: 24” x 50”.

2010

2007

2007

The Aya Sophia (Church of The Holy Wisdom) in Istanbul. Small pieces of fabric are built up as a collage for the cathedral piece of this quilt. There are Christian motifs to the left and Islamic designs on the right - pointing to the past and present history of this beautiful building. Hand quilted. Size: 34” x 38”.

2005

This is my interpretation of an old prayer rug that I saw in a museum in Turkey. Layers, stitches and cut back, bonded appliqué and hand quilted. Size: 24” x 42”.

2005

This is an abstract of a photograph that I took from Kefalonia looking out over a stormy sea and sky. Size: 25” x 35”.

2004

Poverty, poor health, civil unrest, deforestation, corrupt governments and guerrilla warfare are just some of the problems facing this beautiful continent. The climate also has its effect on life, survival or death. Size: 18” x 48”.

2004

The central panel is brown wrapping paper which has been soaked with olive oil and painted, and then distressed by scrunching it up. This was repeated many times over several months to soften the fibres which began to feel like fabric. Strips of fabric were stitched to the paper. Machine and hand quilting. Size: 34” x 40”.

2003

This is the first of four designs in a series that I have called ‘Tidal Landscape’. Each design depicts parts of boats hulls before they were cleaned and prepared for the next season. Peeling paint, barnacles and salt water result in wonderful colours and textures. Each piece was over-painted with acrylic paint after it was quilted. Size 12” x 24”.

2018

2018

2018

2018

Memories of Venice and Finland. All hand-made: paper, paint, stencils, die-cuts, collage, collected ephemera, added sketches.

This shows the centre page of a multi-page, gate-fold book design. Each page is slightly smaller than the one before. Decorated with my drawings, stencils, paint and bleach.

A travel journal. Painted papers recording places and memories with coloured drawings and ephemera.

Holiday memories. A re-purposed child’s board story-book which is a really good substrate for masses of colour and pictures. All hand-drawn.

Bottom left is the cover to ‘Doors of Oman’. The others relate to Venice, the History of the Tulip in Turkey, and ‘Portals’ another gate-fold book.

The top sample is based on the Hydrangea, and it is made from Craft Vilene with stitching, added beads and hand-dyed cords.

The open book is inspired by feathers and eucalyptus leaves picked up in Cyprus.

The small rectangular book at the top right opens out 360 degrees and forms a Star Book, based on architecture.

A folded concertina book with cut out areas to show scenes behind.

The open book shows the wall art inside one of the many painted churches in the Troodos Mountains of Cyprus.

Launched in 1946, the Waverley is the world’s last seagoing paddle steamer. Based in Scotland, she now visits several areas of the UK each year to offer excursions in those areas. Here, she is departing Yarmouth Pier for a return trip to Swanage.

Folkboat Week is an annual event hosted by the Royal Solent Yacht Club, based in Yarmouth. Folkboats come from far and wide to take part, but the majority are based either in Lymington or Yarmouth. X One Design (XOD) Class fleets are based in several places along the South Coast of England, and Yarmouth is host to a sizeable fleet of these boats.

Whilst Yarmouth Castle, seen next to the Ferry, was completed in 1547, The George Hotel started life at the beginning of the 18th Century as the home of the Governor of the Isle of Wight. It became an Inn in 1764. By contrast The Gossips Café is a relative newcomer. Built originally in 1927 as offices and a waiting room for the pier, it became The Gossips Café in 1992.

These Cygnets are about five weeks old. Sadly, one of the original brood has gone, but the remainder seem to be thriving. There are quite a few breeding pairs of swans on the River Yar.

The first ‘Old Gaffers Festival’ took place in Yarmouth over a three-day weekend at the end of May in 1997, and it attracted around 30,000 visitors. The Festival completely took over the town with a multitude of market stalls, food and drink marquees and live entertainment. It then became an annual event until 2015, when the decision was made to stage it bi-annually. Sadly, rising costs and a lack of volunteers meant that the last Festival was held in 2017. However the ‘Old Gaffers Association’ continue to organise Regattas like this one in Yarmouth Harbour in June 2022.

The Yarmouth Town Crier announcing the start of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations on 2nd June, 2022.

Opened in 1876, Yarmouth Pier, on the Isle of Wight, is the longest wooden pier in England. Designed to be a Victorian Pleasure Pier, Yarmouth Pier was regularly visited by Pleasure Steamers - such as the Paddle Steamer Waverley.

Yarmouth has five ‘Sea Lanes’ - small unadopted paths that run from the High Street to the foreshore. This is the seaward end of ‘Refuge Lane’, which is the nearest of these lanes to the town square. The next sea lane further on down the High Street has the rather romantic name of ‘Loveshore Lane’!

For its small size, Yarmouth boasts a wide variety of independent shops, pubs and restaurants. As can be seen from the notice boards outside its well stocked windows, the Yarmouth Deli caters for a wide variety of tastes.

Grace’s Bakery is a family run business on the Isle of Wight. The entrance to their tiny Yarmouth shop is just a hole in the wall by the Quay.

The shop may be small but the quality and variety of the products on offer is wickedly good!

Just one of several quality independent shops in Yarmouth.

This Yarmouth business provides an unusual combination of high quality barbering with the opportunity to sample and purchase such items as fine wines, rare spirits, cuban cigars and gentlemen’s luxury accessories!

Found in rock pools at low tide at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.

Yarmouth Harbour - Isle of Wight.

Harbour Sea Defences - Yarmouth, Isle of Wight

Elandess is a 244 foot long luxury yacht, built in 2018. This photograph, taken from the Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) to Lymington ferry, shows Elandess at anchor off Yarmouth, with Hurst Point Lighthouse in the background.

Beverley discovered this riot of colours and shapes on the north shore of the Isle of Wight - near Fort Victoria.

A seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, Aldeburgh has an extensive shingle beach, upon which small boats are drawn up when not engaged in fishing. Fresh fish is still sold daily from huts at the top of the beach.

A traditional, wooden dhow travelling from the Dhow Harbour towards the ultra modern Doha City Centre - as viewed from the Museum of Islamic Art.

Constructed in 2006 and officially opened in 2008, the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is located at one end of a seven kilometres long waterfront promenade, known as the Corniche, that encircles Doha Bay in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The MIA was designed, at the request of the rulers of Qatar, the Al-Thani family, by I M Pei, a prestigious and internationally acclaimed Chinese American architect born in Kwangchou and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Pei, who was 91 years old when he agreed to undertake this enterprise, traveled throughout the Muslim world on a six-month quest to learn about Muslim architecture and history and read Muslim texts to draw inspiration for his design. He was especially impressed with the elegant simplicity of the 9th century Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo. Pei was convinced that the sites proposed for the MIA could be affected by the proximity of other buildings, and so he successfully argued that an artificial peninsular should be constructed to extend some 60 metres out from the Corniche into Doha Bay, and that the MIA should be sited on a new stand-alone island at the end of this peninsular.

The MIA is thus bounded on its eastern and southern sides by a purpose-built park, whilst two bridges connect its southern front with the main peninsular that contains the park. The western side of the MIA adjoins the Dhow Harbour, and the northern side looks out into Doha Bay.

Valerian is one of several types of flora to be found on the sand dunes at Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.

Bees have developed an efficient method for the collection and transportation of pollen; the fore, middle, and hind pairs of legs work together to produce a large ball of pollen that is held in place by bristly hairs on the outside of each hind leg. This particular honeybee was collecting pollen from a white Cistus flower at Ventnor Botanical Gardens, Isle of White.

The Early Bumblebee (Bombus Pratorum) is, as the name implies, one of the earliest bumblebees to emerge from hibernation each year. This one was found to be busily at work at the Ventnor Botanical Gardens, Isle of Wight.

This little chap joined Beverley and me for tea at Ventnor Botanical Gardens, Isle of Wight.

Green Alkanet (Pentaglottis Sempervirens) is a wild flower that blooms in the spring and early summer and is beloved by bees. Its stamens are hidden deep within narrow flower tubes which end in a white pentagonal ring in the centre of five blue petals. Root extracts from Green Alkanet are used as purple and burgundy coloured dyes. This photograph was taken in the grounds of Mottistone Manor, Isle of Wight.

These cygnets started life on a small freshwater lake bordered by the River Yar and the busy main road into Yarmouth, Isle of Wight.

Poppies in a field full of them near Hasketon, Suffolk.

Just part of a hedgerow on a country footpath.

I bought this tree peony last year, and this is its first flower.

The name arose because the foliage, which is often green with white spots, was thought to resemble a diseased lung - hence the common name Lungwort - and the Latin translation, Pulmonaria, which became the name for the genus. Some say that, if a plant resembles a particular body part, it must have medicinal properties to cure it - hence the continued use of Pulmonaria to treat many respiratory ailments.

First bloom this year in our garden.

Meerkats are not, of course, native to the UK! This one is part of an eleven strong colony at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary. It would appear that the only connection between owls and meerkats in this context is that the founders of the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary wanted to create a colony as a visitor attraction!

There must be many worse fates than being born to live in a small hillside taverna in northeast Corfu!

The Royal Camel Farm in Bahrain is home to over 600 camels of all ages and sizes. It was created by the King of Bahrain, Sheik Mohammad, as a means of preserving camels in Bahrain. The camels are not bred for eating or racing, merely for preservation.

Of the four Basset Hounds that we owned, Jessica was the last. We had rescued her when she was two years old, and she was approximately six when I took this photograph.

A small part of Doha Bay, immediately to the east of the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), is partly encircled by the MIA Park. With only a very light breeze, the seawater in that area was calm enough to reflect the lights from many of the buildings in Doha City.

This fountain stands outside the entrance to the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) Park in Doha. The illuminated MIA is behind and to the right of the fountain.

The Doha City Centre is located on the north side of Doha Bay. This photograph of the City Centre at night was taken from the south side of the Bay, some two kilometres away and close to the Museum of Islamic Art. The wind was quite strong at the time, and so the seawater in the Bay was not smooth enough to reflect the lighted buildings to any great degree.

One of the most iconic mosques in Qatar is Fanar, Qatar Islamic and Cultural Centre, Doha, which is also known as the Spiral Mosque. This photograph of the Spiral Mosque was taken from the Museum of Islamic Art - with the Dhow Harbour in the foreground.

The MSC Clara was built in 2015 for the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). She is 395 meters long, and she can carry 19,224 containers at an average speed of 16 knots. Mist had started to form over the water when this photograph was taken during evening twilight.

This 2MT Class 2-6-2T locomotive - Number 41298 - was designed by George Ivatt and completed at the British Railways Crewe Works in October 1951. Weighing 63 tons 5 cwt, it has two 16.5" x 24.0" cylinders on the outside driving 5' 00" wheels.

Withdrawn from service with British Railways in July 1967, it was purchased by the Ivatt Locomotive Trust, and, after time with the Longmore Military Railway in Hampshire and the Quainton Railway Society in Buckinghamshire, it arrived on the Isle of Wight in 2008. The Ivatt Locomotive Trust generously transferred ownership of 41298 and its other locomotives to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway in 2009. After a complete overhaul, 41298 started to haul passenger trains in September 2015, and it remains in regular service with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is a heritage railway that runs through five and a half miles of Isle of Wight countryside from Smallbrook Junction in the East to Wootton Station in the West - via stations at Ashey and Havenstreet.

Wootton Station, at the western end of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, is equipped with a run round loop that enables a locomotive to attach to the opposite end of the train before setting off back on the return journey along the single track railway. Here, 41298 is reversing back along that loop.

This 2MT Class 2-6-2T locomotive - Number 41313 - was designed by George Ivatt and completed at the British Railways Crewe Works in May 1952. Weighing 63 tons 5 cwt, it has two 16.5" x 24.0" cylinders on the outside driving 5' 00" wheels.

Withdrawn from service with British Railways in June 1965, it was sold for scrap but rescued by the Ivatt Locomotive Trust, who purchased it in 1975. 41313 was initially taken to the Quainton Railway Society in Buckinghamshire before being moved to the Isle of Wight in 2006. The Ivatt Locomotive Trust generously transferred ownership of 41313 and its other locomotives to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway in 2009. After an extensive overhaul, 41313 returned to steam in 2017, and it remains in regular service with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

41313 reversing back along the run round loop.

This O2 Class 0-4-4T Locomotive - Number W24 - was designed by William Adams, Chief Engineer of the London and South Western Railway (LSWR), and completed at the Nine Elms Locomotive Works in 1891. Weighing 48 tons 8 cwt, it has two 17.5" x 24.0" cylinders on the inside driving 4' 10" wheels.

When built and entering service with the LWSR, this locomotive was given the number 209, and it served with the LSWR until that company was absorbed into the newly formed Southern Railway (SR) in 1923. On 26th April 1925, it was shipped to the Isle of Wight by SR as part of a major modernisation of the Island’s railways, and it was then renumbered to W24. Various modifications were carried out including the fitting of Westinghouse air brake equipment and an extended coal bunker to increase its operational range.

W24 was withdrawn from service in March 1967, and it was immediately acquired by the newly formed Wight Locomotive Society (WLS) who named it ‘Calbourne’. In 1971, after an extensive overhaul by the WLS, ‘Calbourne’ hauled the first passenger trains for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. ‘Calbourne’ completed her most recent overhaul during 2020, and returned to steam in time for the railway’s 50th Anniversary in 2021.

'Calbourne’ reversing back along the run round loop.

This Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0 Saddle Tank (ST) locomotive was designed and built by the Hunslet Engine Company as HE3792. One of the very final batch of 14 locomotives of the ‘Austerity’ class to be ordered by the War Department (WD), it was delivered to the Army in January 1953 and given the number WD192. Weighing 48 tons 5 cwt, it has two 18" x 26" cylinders on the inside driving 4' 3" wheels.

In 1968 WD192 was given the name ‘Waggoner’ in recognition of its service with the Royal Corps of Transport, and then, in 1984, after some 30 years service, ‘Waggoner’ was taken to the Museum of Army Transport, Beverley, for permanent exhibition. This Museum closed due to financial problems in 2003, and ‘Waggoner’ was subsequently placed on loan to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. ‘Waggoner’ arrived at Havenstreet on 26th February 2005, and, after the necessary engineering work was carried out, ‘Waggoner’ was steamed for the first time in almost twenty two years during May 2006.

In May 2008 the National Army Museum transferred the ownership of ‘Waggoner’ to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. After a thorough overhaul in 2022, ‘Waggoner’ is back in service with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

‘Waggoner’ reversing back along the run round loop.

This Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0 Saddle Tank (ST) locomotive was designed and built by the Hunslet Engine Company as HE3798. It was delivered to the Army in January 1953 and given the number WD198. Weighing 48 tons 5 cwt, WD198 has two 18" x 26" cylinders on the inside driving 4' 3" wheels.

In 1971, WD198 was given the name ‘Royal Engineer’, and, when withdrawn from service in 1991, it was the last operational steam locomotive owned by the Army. Initially, Royal Engineer was placed on loan to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, but, in May 2008 the National Army Museum transferred the ownership of Royal Engineer to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

‘Royal Engineer’ reversing back along the run round loop.

This AIX (Terrier) Class 0-6-0T Locomotive - Number W11 - was designed by William Stroudley, Locomotive Superintendent of the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR), and it was completed at the LB&SCR Works in Brighton in March 1878 to enter service with the LB&SCR. Weighing 28 tons 5 cwt, it has two 14" x 20" cylinders on the inside driving 3' 11.5” wheels. Engines of this type had the nickname ‘Terrier’ on account of the distinctive ‘bark’ of their exhaust beat.

This locomotive won a gold medal for its design, workmanship and finish at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, and then, after spending its early working life in the London area, it was purchased by the Isle of Wight Central Railway (IWCR) - arriving on the Isle of Wight in January 1902. When the IWCR passed into the ownership of the Southern Railway in 1923 this locomotive was given the number W11. Taken out of service in April 1946, W11 was shipped back to the mainland and worked for British Railways until it was withdrawn from service on 27th September 1963. W11 was then bought by Sir Billy Butlin for display at one of his holiday camps until, in 1973, he agreed to loan it to the Wight Locomotive Society for a period of 10 years. Three years later, in 1976, W11 was purchased outright from Butlins by the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, and, after a long period of restoration, it began service with the Isle of Wight Steam Railway in 1989. Withdrawn again from service in August 2002, W11 was extensively overhauled and fitted with a new boiler before returning to full operational service in 2014.

W11 reversing back along the run round loop.

This 79 Class 4-4-2T locomotive - Number 41942 - was built on 9th August 1925 by Nasmyth and Wilson Ltd at Patricroft, Manchester. It was originally numbered 2124 for service with the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) Railway, but then it was renumbered to 41942 in March 1949 for service with the London Tilbury and Southend Railway (LTSR). 79 Class locomotives were designed by Thomas Whitelegg - who was the first locomotive superintendent for the LTSR.

Weighing 71 tons 3 cwt, it had two 19" x 26" cylinders on the outside - driving 6' 6" wheels. It ended its days at Plaistow on 19th December 1956.

I started at Palmer’s Grammar School, Grays, in September 1955, and so I travelled on this train many times from my home in Upminster before it was replaced by a Metro-Cammell lightweight diesel train in 1957. I am sure that I remember the Guard, who is facing us in this photograph, and even the Driver’s posture seems familiar - despite the fact that he has his back to us while talking to passengers!

The railway line from Upminster to Grays had one stop at Ockendon Station. It was predominantly a single track line, but there was a passing loop at Ockendon. This photograph shows two trains passing at Ockendon: the C12 Class 4-4-2T - Number 67363 - is pulling its train to Grays, whilst an unidentified N7 Class 0-6-2T is pushing its train back to Upminster.

Number 67363 was built in April 1899 at the Great Northern Railway (GNR) Doncaster Works. It was to have four different numbers during its working life: firstly, it was given the number 1505 for service with the GNR; then, in December 1924, it was renumbered to 4505 for service with the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER); then, in May 1946, whilst still with the LNER, it was renumbered to 7363; and, finally, in February 1949 it was renumbered to 67363 for service with British Railways (BR). The C12 Class locomotives were designed for the GNR by Henry Ivatt - who was their Chief Mechanical Engineer.

Weighing 62 tons 6 cwt, it had two 18" x 26" cylinders on the inside - driving 5' 8" wheels. It was withdrawn from service on 20th November 1958.

N7 Class 0-6-2T locomotives were designed by Alfred Hill, who was the Chief Mechanical Engineer at the Stratford Works of the Great Eastern Railway (GER). Introduced into service in 1915, they weighed 61 tons 12 cwt and had two 18" x 24" cylinders on the inside - driving 4' 10" wheels. They were withdrawn from service in 1962.

I decided to call this ‘Balance’ because I think that it highlights the need to balance human requirements with those of the natural environment. I love the comparison between the detailed, natural filigree work of the branches of the tree on the right with the extraordinarily, simple, effective and efficient design of the pylon. And then, of course, there is the sky in the middle; how much is that being influenced now by ‘global warming’?

I think that this provides a nice contrast between the awesome power of the sun and the high voltage cables stretching off into the distance.

Helmingham Hall is a moated manor house dating back to the fifteenth century. This photograph, taken 17 minutes before sunset, shows the front of the moated manor house. The entrance is via a drawbridge, which was down at the time.

Helmingham Hall stands in a 400 acre park, which is home to large herds of both red and fallow deer. This photograph was taken 10 minutes before sunset.

Old Hall Farm, Helmingham, Suffolk.

We have honey, beeswax and mead!

Dried Roses, Beeswax Candle, Moorcroft Pottery and Sea Holly.

Beeswax Candle, Moorcroft Pottery, Sea Holly, Sea Glass and Marbles.

Beeswax Candle, Marbles and Cut Glass.

This is ‘Mini Edward’ - a replica of the teddy bear who famously inspired AA Milne’s Winnie the Pooh stories. The original Edward Bear was created by Farnell in 1921. This iconic teddy bear has been brought to life again by ‘Merrythought’ - the last remaining British teddy bear manufacturer.

The only source of light for this scene came from an assortment of beeswax candles.

This recipe has just four ingredients: chocolates, a generous measure of gin, flowers, and, of course, the one you love!

This sculpture, made out of Ciment Fondue, is installed on the river bank at the Medina Riverside Park, Newport, Isle of Wight. Concern for the effects of sea level rise around the world - and especially at this Park - influenced the design.

A view from the Odessa Boatyard, Newport, Isle of Wight.

The Wheatsheaf Inn is a very popular public house in Yarmouth.

Whilst Southern Vectis provides the Isle of Wight with a fantastic scheduled bus service, it also provides extra summer services like this one linking Yarmouth and Newport to a popular tourist attraction at Tapnell Farm Park.

Note the metal sculpture of a Cormorant.

This station was part of the Freshwater, Yarmouth and Newport Railway that was shut down in 1953. It was converted into a restaurant - called “Off The Rails” - in 2014.

Constantin Guys (1802-1892) was a Soldier, Journalist and Consummate Sketch Artist.

He was born in Vlissingen, Netherlands, on 3rd December 1802, and, at the age of four, he and is family moved, firstly to Calais, and then, in 1816, settled in Paris. At the age of nineteen, He fell out with his father, who he alleges had, at the age of sixty-nine, seduced his sixteen-year-old fiancé!

Constantin became an officer in the French Cavalry (Dragoons) in 1825 - leaving in 1830 - having become an accomplished rider with a passion for horses.

There is scant evidence about Constantin’s life for the following twelve years, but, in 1843, he became a journalist and artist-in-the-field for The Illustrated London News.

For the next sixteen years he travelled widely reporting and sketching events of major importance such as the war in The Crimea. When he started as a journalist, his ability to draw sketches to support his news stories was, to say the least, rudimentary, but he taught himself through a process of trial and error and had, by the end of his journalistic career, proved himself to be extremely accomplished at producing rapid and accurate sketches of the events he was covering.

Constantin spent the last twenty years or so of his life in Paris, living in a very modest apartment, and spending many hours every day mingling with the Paris crowd and studying their everyday lives. Then, late each night, he would return to his rooms to sketch, from memory, what he had seen. He must have produced thousands of sketches using pencil, crayon, ink and various washes, but, sadly, the vast majority of these have been lost or destroyed. Apparently, at the time, these sketches sold for extraordinarily modest amounts of money.

Constantin was never happier than when he was incognito and just part of the crowd. He hated any attempt to put the spotlight on his artistic talent, and even forced his admirers to agree to refrain from using his name in correspondence. So much so that a very great admirer of his, Charles Baudelaire, wrote ‘Le Peintre de la Vie Moderne’ extolling the talent of Constantin but only referring to him as “Monsieur G”!

In his early eighties, Constantin was knocked down by a carriage on the street and suffered multiple fractures to one of his legs. Nevertheless he recovered sufficiently to live until the age of ninety - albeit effectively bedridden for the last seven years. Like so many artists, he failed to capitalise on his talent and massif outpouring of work, and, in those later years, he had to rely on a small family pension to eke out a very modest existence.

He died in Paris on 13th December 1892.

A limited edition of ‘Le Peintre de la Vie Moderne’, by Charles Baudelaire, was published in Paris in 1923. It contained reproductions of sixteen watercolours by Constantin Guys, and these are reproduced here.

In 1945, Pantheon, New York, published a large quarto-sized portfolio containing twenty-four loose collotype reproductions of sketches by Constantin Guys. The portfolio has the title ‘Femmes Parisiennes’, and all the sketches came from the collection of Henri Bernstein. All twenty-four are reproduced here.

Constantin wished to avoid the limelight - almost obsessively so. He rarely signed his work, and this is one of the exceptions.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York has placed images of works by Constantin Guys at a very high resolution in the Public Domain, and they are available for download from its website.

The Cleveland Museum of Art has placed images of works by Constantin Guys at a very high resolution in the Public Domain, and they are available for download from its website.

The J Paul Getty Museum has placed this image of a work by Constantin Guys at a very high resolution in the Public Domain, and it is available for download from its website.

The Cooper Hewitt Design Museum is part of the Smithsonian Institution, and it is located in New York City. It has twenty works by Constantin Guys - all of which are available for download in high resolution from its website. All twenty are reproduced here.

From circa 1900, ‘Libraire Artistique International’, based in Paris, published a series of volumes under the generic heading ‘L’Art et le Beau’ - each of which focused on a specific artist. Constantin Guys was the subject of the first volume to be written for the fourth series. The text was written by Georges Grappe, and the volume contains sixty-three sketches by Constantin Guys - all of which came from the collection of Gaspard-Félix Tournachon, known by the pseudonym Nadar. Both a friend to Constantin and a great admirer of his work, Nadar was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist and balloonist. All sixty-three sketches are reproduced here.

Jacques Boullaire (1893-1972) was a successful French Artist who began his love affair with Tahiti and the other ‘Society’ Islands of French Polynesia during his first visit there from 1937 to 1938. He subsequently made two more visits, firstly from 1949 to 1952 and then from 1965 to 1966. During this total period of some seven years living and working in the Society Islands he produced several thousand drawings, sketches and watercolours - some of which are exhibited here.

Six lying figures. Pen and black ink and graphite, with green, red and blue wax crayon and watercolour.

Three compositions: (a) abstract forms, a man and woman, (b) half-length girl, seen in profile, and (c) abstract forms. Pen and black ink and graphite, with wax crayon and watercolour.

Draped figure. Graphite, pen and black ink, watercolour, red, black and green wax crayon.

Three studies of people sleeping underground. Pen and black ink and graphite, with blue wax crayon and watercolour.

Sleeping people and four sea subjects, latter including at lower left a boat on water. Pen and black ink and graphite, with grey wax crayon and watercolour

Three sleeping figures, and head of sleeper. Pen and black ink, graphite, watercolour and green and pink wax crayons.

Three compositions: at top sleeping figure, below at right two seated figures and at left the underground. Pen and black ink and graphite, watercolour, green and white wax crayon.

Three figure studies and windows, including at lower left two figures sitting beside each other. Pen and black ink and graphite with watercolour and wax crayons.

Figures sleeping and two sculptural groups. Graphite, pen and black ink and watercolour, green and white wax crayon.

Figure studies. Pen and black ink and graphite, with watercolour and white wax crayon.

Three compositions: (a) abstract forms behind barbed wire, (b) abstract forms, and (c) lying figure. Pen and black ink and graphite, with green and grey wax crayon and watercolour.

Studies of a mother and child and horses, including at lower left figure with child seen almost from behind. Pen and black ink and graphite with watercolour.

Three figures in front of bombed buildings. Pen and black ink, graphite and watercolour, with wax crayons.

Sketches with barbed wire. Pen and black ink, watercolour, wax crayons.

Composition with London skyline, sculptural forms and a jagged wall. Pen and ink and graphite, with green, blue and black wax crayon and watercolour.

Composition with skyline and barbed wire, and crashed German aeroplane. Pen and black ink and graphite, with pink, green, red and yellow wax crayon and watercolour.

Crashed German plane and urban view with barbed wire. Pen and black ink and graphite, watercolour and wax crayons.

Sculptural forms. Pen and black ink and graphite with watercolour and pink and yellow wax crayon.

Landscape with wrecked omnibus and underground figures. Pen and black ink, graphite, wax crayons and watercolour.

Five studies of figures in the Underground. Pen and black ink and graphite, with watercolour.

Four seated figures, including at lower right figure sitting on a chair, with legs crossed. Pen and black ink and graphite, watercolour, white wax crayon.

Woman knitting and two recumbent figures. Pen and black ink, graphite, white wax crayon, watercolour.

Woman with child, two children, woman knitting. Pen and black ink and graphite, with watercolour, heightened with white wax crayon.

Four compositions, including a large devastated building. Graphite.

Seven seated figures before ruined buildings. Pen and black ink and graphite, with yellow, green, red and black wax crayon and watercolour.

Studies of figures, including mother, child and soldier. Graphite.

Various compositions, including sketch of a boot, seated woman with cat and further figures with children. Pen and black ink, graphite and watercolour.

Four rows of seated people: some seated on benches or chairs, others on the ground. Pen and black ink, graphite and watercolour.

Three rows of seated people. Pen and black ink and graphite, with watercolour, heightened with white wax crayon.

Two groups of seated people. Pen and black ink and graphite.  Verso: Four sketches.  Watercolour

Four compositions with seated figures, including a woman standing and holding a child in the upper left composition, and in the lower, two groups of figures seated on benches and facing one another. Pen and black ink, watercolour and white wax crayon.

Three compositions. Pen and black ink and graphite, with yellow, pink and black wax crayon and watercolour. 

An Underground shelter with occupants. Pen and black ink and graphite, with wax crayon and watercolour.

Six seated figures in a circle. Pen and black ink, grey wash and coloured wax crayons.

Seven figures in a shelter. Wax crayon, coloured crayon, watercolour, pen and black ink.

This drawing shows a bay in the Tilbury Shelter - the late Victorian goods depot of the Tilbury and Southend Railway in the East End of London, which functioned as a makeshift shelter during the Blitz. Conditions at this shelter, which regularly housed as many as 10,000 people during the raids, were extremely unsanitary. An unofficial committee ran this shelter, and each bay, which had its number painted on the wall, had its own Shelter Marshall. Rules were either painted on the walls - for example, 'No Smoking' - or written on a 'Notice' pasted on the walls.

Three groups of seated figures: in the upper image a figure knitting with two figures at right huddled beneath blankets, a staircase beyond. Pen and black ink, with watercolour and coloured wax crayons.

Six studies. Pen and black ink and wax crayons, with graphite and watercolour.

Four sleeping figures in a shelter with a notice on the wall. Pen and black ink and graphite, with red, yellow and black wax crayon and watercolour.

Two seated figures: a man and woman, wrapped in blankets and seated on a bench . Pen and black ink, white wax crayon and grey wash.

Two figures seated, one with head resting on the other's shoulder. Pen and black ink and graphite, with white wax crayon and watercolour.

Seated person, with a greatcoat thrown over the shoulders. Pen and black ink and white wax crayon, with graphite and watercolour.

Seated figures, including a woman in the foreground. Pen and black ink and white wax crayon, with graphite and watercolour.

Seated figure with hands in lap. Pen and black ink and graphite, with pink, yellow and brown wax crayon and watercolour, squared for transfer.

War: possible subjects; blitzed buildings ablaze against night sky. Pen and black ink, watercolour and yellow and white wax crayon

Two seated women, one holding a child. Pen and black ink, wax crayons and watercolour; squared for transfer.

Two half-length seated figures, one resting head on the other's shoulder. Pen and black ink and graphite, with wax crayon and watercolour.

Seated woman, with a second seated woman seen though a doorway behind her. Pen and black ink, with watercolour and wax crayons

Seated figure with hand in front of face, with a hole in the wall behind. Pen and black ink and graphite, with black wax crayon and watercolour

Figure, half-length, standing in front of a scarred wall. Pen and black ink, graphite, wax crayons and watercolour

Head and shoulders of a figure holding a hand in front of face. Pen and black ink, wax crayons and watercolour

Sleeping figure, with hand covering part of face. Pen and black ink, graphite, brown and white wax crayon and watercolour.

Head made of devastated house. Pen and ink, graphite, with pink, yellow and white wax crayon and watercolour.

Figures supporting wounded man. Pen and black ink and graphite, with grey wash, heightened with white.

Two cloaked figures with others in background. Pen and black ink, with pink and blue-white wax crayon and watercolour.

Two seated women in a shelter. Pen and black ink and watercolour with white wax crayon.

Three rows of recumbent figures. Pen and black ink, white wax crayon and grey wash, touched with watercolour and white.

Six studies of sculptural figures. Pen and black ink, with watercolour, heightened with white wax crayon.

Four figures and four sleeping children. Pen and black ink and graphite, with yellow and red wax crayon and watercolour.

Four sleeping children and two lying figures. Pen and black ink, wax crayons and watercolour.

Six seated figures wrapped in blankets. Pen and black ink, graphite, white wax crayon and watercolour.

Three compositions, two of figures in a bombed street, the third of a figure lying down with a line of buildings behind. Pen and black ink and graphite, with red and white wax crayon and watercolour.

Three compositions: two seated figures in the upper left sketch, two sleeping figures in the upper right and a figure beneath debris in the lower sketch. Pen and black ink, white wax crayon and watercolour, touched with pink wax crayon.

Two seated women. Pen and black ink, white wax crayon and watercolour.

Woman sleeping with child, bombed houses in the background. Pen and black ink and graphite, with yellow wax crayon and watercolour.

Row of reclining figures and two seated women. Pen and black ink, wax crayons and watercolour.

Two seated figures. Pen and black ink, with yellow, red and blue wax crayon and watercolour.