Winter Morning, St Catherine's Lighthouse, Isle of Wight

THE PAINTING

This is a view from the cliff tops near Blackgang Chine looking down on St. Catherine's lighthouse and the seemingly endless ocean beyond. The skies here seem really big.

I'll often take a morning run past this spot, and have photographed it many times, but never loved the result. I like it best when the sea and the sky and the earth all feel part of the same entity: shaped from the same clay so to speak. 

I'm not explaining this well, but sometimes when it's misty and the light is low, it's hard to tell where the earth turns into air and the sea turns into sky. For some reason this makes me happy. This, I think, is what this picture is about.

It's a pencil sketch and a big messy watercolour which I've then brought into photoshop and completely reworked. I like it, and I hope it pleases you too.

HOW WE MAKE THE PICTURE

We build everything ourselves in the gallery. The photograph is printed on the very best archival matte canvas, and then left flat to dry for a few days. The great thing about a matte finish with no glass is that you have no distracting glare or reflections. It's a much more direct experience.

Whilst the print is drying we can get on with making the stretcher frame and the tray frame that the finished canvas will drop into. The tray frame is then hand painted.

Next the canvas is stretched over the stretcher frame. After that, we carefully paint the canvas edges with several coats of the same paint used on the tray frame, so they match perfectly. Then we assemble the canvas and frame, put a hanging wire on the back, and attach a Certificate of Authenticity. Finally Neil signs the piece front and back adding the title and edition number.

We use the very best materials, and I would expect my pictures to look exactly the same in 100 years. They won't fade in our lifetime. 

BUYING OPTIONS

This picture is available as a framed stretched canvas, and comes in two sizes as detailed below. A shipping charge of £35 is added at checkout.

Large Stretched Canvas Framed in a White Tray Frame: £495

Limited Edition of 150

Framed Size 133cm by 60cm (canvas 1254cm by 52cm)

XL Stretched Canvas Framed in White Tray Frame: £750

Limited Edition of 50

Framed Size is 183cm by 80cm  (canvas size is 175cm by 72cm).

Canvases can be rolled and shipped abroad unframed. Please get in touch for a quote.

Feel free to call Neil on 07957 473693 with any more questions, or email us at neil@neilwilliams.co.uk