'Citadel' — Acrylic on Canvas, Cambridge Series

'Citadel' — Acrylic on Canvas, Cambridge Series

'Citadel' is part of the Cambridge Envisaged series — a body of work that responds to the architecture, history, and atmosphere of Cambridge. The title refers to the sense of enclosure and authority that the city's older buildings project: the colleges, the chapels, the libraries, all of which present a face to the world that is simultaneously welcoming and forbidding.

The Cambridge Series

The Cambridge Envisaged series was developed over an extended period of engagement with the city — walking its streets, observing its buildings at different times of day and in different seasons, and attempting to find a visual language adequate to its particular character. Cambridge is a city of contrasts: ancient and modern, public and private, open and enclosed. The paintings in this series attempt to hold these contrasts in productive tension.

'Citadel' was made in acrylic, which allowed for a directness and speed of working that suited the subject. The surface is built up through layers of paint applied with palette knives and brushes, with areas of the ground left visible beneath the upper layers. The result is a painting that is both architectural and atmospheric — a response to the city's physical presence rather than a description of any specific building.