I really like bridges. The big ones like over the Humber and even small ones like the one at Bakewell.
But what I really like are the cast iron industrial railway bridges like this one in the Don Valley in Sheffield:-
Ask me why but I’m not sure I can really answer. Something about the triumph of function over form at one level, but it is something more than that. I hesitate to say that it is an aesthetic in its own right, but it really does stamp something on my psyche.
I was walking down the road to pick up my car from it’s service and found myself wandering through this semi-indusrial area of the Sheffield Don Valley. Every now and again a train would thunder across the bridge and I would miss the photo opportunity.
I don’t suppose they are all that “northern” as the railway network covers all areas, but they remind me of being 11 yrs old in 1971 nevertheless. Trainspotting and associated record keeping and worship. All of which was undoubtedly the same for my peers in Kent at the same time….
BUT,
I can’t help being transported back to that northern childhood and feeling in touching distance of any number of other experiences.
It is a kind of “Life on Mars” thing, infused with timetravel mystery. And from a painting and making art point of view it can provide a backdrop for a narrative as yet undiscovered
This is the underpainting I will work with and then paint the further layers of context and narrative over and around it. The above photos will inform what I do and tease out some sort of story I hope.