Drawing Skills: Part 3 Project 5 Research point 1(b)

Thinking about Project 4

I've been thinking quite a lot about Project 4 and wondering which town will provide the base for my work. I live in rural North Nottinghamshire and the nearest town to me is Retford, a small market town with lots of Georgian buildings. I looked for paintings of the town and didn't find much.

Retford Fair - Keith Hudson, 1979
Acrylic on board , 42 x 80 (1)

I think this has been painted from the balcony of the Town Hall overlooking the Market Place. The artist has taken some creative decisions and made alterations to the buildings.

About twenty miles away is the city of Lincoln which in past times has been the capital of England. Because it was so important a city it had (and still has) a hilltop Castle, a magnificent Cathedral and even Roman ruins. The Castle and the Cathedral dominate the landscape for miles around and I was moved to see what artists had made of the sights.

One of the views I'm considering drawing is the Brayford Pool. This is a natural lake formed by the widening of the River Witham and it was used as a harbour in Roman times. The Romans connected it to the River Trent by digging the Foss Dyke. Today it is the backdrop to the university and a wide variety of social venues - it still buzzes with life.

Lincoln from Brayford by Joseph Baker - 1770 (2)

This is all decidedly rural but things were changing when in 1802-3 Turner painted from the same vantage point. I recognise this because of the small church centre right. The palette is very different, certainly there doesn't seem to be any intention to create anything idyllically rural. Even the sky look a bit troubled with its muddy yellow.

Lincoln Cathedral from the Holmes, Brayford - JMW Turner - 1802-3
Graphite, watercolour and body colour on paper. 660 x 1020 mm (3)

By the time Carmichael painted the Brayford the towers to the Cathedral had been removed for safety reasons, there were lots more buildings and the water was much busier. All sense of the rural has disappeared.

The Brayford Pool and Lincoln Cathedral - John Wilson Carmichael, 1858 (4)
Oil on Canvas, 89 x 134.5 cm

Montgomery offers a contemporary view from a slightly different angle with a more recreational look:

Brayford Pool and Lincoln Cathedral - Peter Montgomery (5)

It's fascinating to see art that shows the rural, then industrialisation and its recent reversal. When I first knew the Brayford there were lots of small workshops, marshalling yards and heavy industry.

Lincoln offers many iconic images and it's hard to find a different take on things. Probably Turner felt the same.

Cathedral Church at Lincoln - JMW Turner, exhibited 1795
Watercolour and graphite on paper, 446 - 348 mm (6)

Contemporary artists are taking pretty much the same line.

Lincoln Cathedral from Castle Square - Peter Montgomery (7)

Susan Isaac draws the same view but in a different style

Lincoln Cathedral from Castle - Susan Isaccs (8)

The Cathedral and Castle are at the top of the notorious Steep Hill. This too attracts artists.

Steep Hill - Sarah Pullen (9)
Pen and ink

Steep Hill - David Work (10)

My friend Sue joins in as well - this was her Christmas card for 2014:

The Straight, Lincoln - Sue - 2014
Pen and ink with pastels

Lincoln industry developed hugely in the nineteenth through into the twentieth century and it was of the heavy kind. The tank was developed in Lincoln and helped the troops in the First World War. True to form L S Lowry painted the grittier side of Lincoln many times with the Cathedral just vaguely in the background. It is a very linear image.

Lincoln - L S Lowry (11)
Oil on canvas, 41 x 61 cm

I have begun to think that it's a fine dividing line between an overworked view and one that stands countless re-interpretations. Lowry seems to have found another, less picturesque side to Lincoln where the focus is on the present rather than the past.

Some time later:

I found this interesting perspective of Retford Market Square from the most unlikely source. Some years ago the Market Place was resurfaced and this image comes from Aggregate Industries who supplied the materials. I think it's an aerial photo but I'm not sure.