Who owns England? Painting a Stolen View
Inspiration and Meaning behind the Painting
Artist Residency - Little Van Gogh
View Painting in Home Interior
Who owns England? - Painting a Stolen View
Art Buyers and Collectors: How To Buy This Artwork?
Inspiration and Meaning behind the Painting
I always return to the forest as a subject for painting. It is a source of limitless fascination and inspiration for many of us, including artists and photographers. I create these forest paintings primarily from memory. I do have photographs that I have taken at different locations, but I rarely use them to complete a painting. They may offer a starting point, a way of seeing or a particular quality of light but ultimately a painting has to work on its own terms; effective paintings have a convincing internal character or consistency. I find that I can only achieve this by moving beyond the straitjacket of the camera lens and encourage the natural rhythms of hand and eye to echo the cycles of growth and renewal. I guess it has something to do with a sense of flow and movement which is at the heart of the Forest.
If you have visited this blog before you will have seen many of my Forest paintings, the culmination of a two-week residency in the New Forest based near the village of Ashurst. For me that was just a wonderful creative opportunity. You can read more about my experience here on the Little Van Gogh Residency – Little Van Gogh.
Who owns England? Painting a Stolen View
A little closer to home, I recently visited Thetford Forest with a view to exploring the woods and gathering ideas for new work. I had been walking, enjoying the landscape and taking a few photographs when I was confronted by a 'ranger' who abruptly told me I was on private land and had to leave immediately. There were no signs, no warnings, barriers or fences, I had simply walked from a designated parking area into the Forest area for roughly 200 metres and I was accused of trespassing. To be honest I was taken aback, genuinely shocked, and this individual clearly felt no obligation to explain why I should not be there. It was a simple statement of fact; I was on private land, not yet a fully criminal offence but that's exactly how it felt. I returned home and did a little research. It turns out that half of England is owned by less than 1% of the population. But don't just take my word for it.
Guy Shrubsole, author of the book 'Who Owns England?' in which the figures are revealed, argues that the findings show a picture that has not changed for centuries. Most people remain unaware of quite how much land is owned by so few,” he writes, adding: “A few thousand dukes, baronets and country squires own far more land than all of middle England put together.”
“Land ownership in England is astonishingly unequal, heavily concentrated in the hands of a tiny elite.” Source: The Guardian, April 2019
So there we have it, you can explore relatively small areas of land designated for the public or you can enjoy a view from a distance, but you can't walk through or physically interact with huge swathes of the British Countryside. It's a strange thought that the very earth under our feet generally belongs to someone else and our relationship with it is constrained by the laws of ownership. A person’s land includes any trees, shrubs, hedges, plants and flowers, whether planted by the owner(s) themselves or having grown wild on the land. Taking the concept of ownership to its limits, I guess you could say this is, potentially, a stolen view.
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Art Buyers and Collectors: How To Buy This Artwork?
If you like this artwork or have seen others that you like, you can email my Art Representative, Karl, at The Darryl Nantais Gallery Ltd on karl@linton59.co.uk or get in contact via the contact form on his website https://linton59.co.uk/contact. Please add the name/title of the artwork in your message. It may have already sold, but if that is the case, don't worry, you can request a commissioned piece and get a painting you will love.
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I ship paintings worldwide, and they are professionally and securely packaged for National and International courier services. They are delivered to your home in a reinforced box within 3-5 days of your order. You can buy my art online and order a painting or request a commissioned piece by contacting me directly using the contact form.
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About Artist
I am a UK based abstract landscape painter/artist with a range of compelling and popular original mixed media paintings available to buy. You can follow my artistic practices, latest artworks and painting techniques and news by reading my contemporary art blog.
Buy Artwork
If you have seen an artwork that you like, you can buy my art online and easily order a painting by contacting me directly using the contact form. Please add the name/title of the artwork in your message. It may have already sold, but if that is the case, don't worry, you can request a commissioned piece just and get a painting you will love.
Shipping
I ship paintings worldwide, and they are professionally and securely packaged for National and International courier services. They are delivered to your home in a reinforced box within 3-5 days of your order. You can buy my art online and order a painting or request a commissioned piece by contacting me directly using the contact form.
Framing
Each artwork will arrive unframed with painted edges, ready for you to hang. If you wish to frame a painting, you can make a direct request at an extra cost or contact your local framing shop.
Previous Exhibitions
I am a British artist based in Ely, Cambridgeshire and my work is sought by collectors here in the UK and worldwide. I have exhibited recently at the Battersea Affordable Art Fair, The Babylon Gallery in Ely, The Art in East Anglia Gallery, in Bury St Edmunds, The Darryl Nantais Gallery in Linton, The Michael House Centre and The Locker cafe in Cambridge. I also have collections of my artwork in prestigious office settings in major towns and cities throughout the country.
Materials Used
I work in mixed media, oil, cold wax, acrylic, bitumen and on both medium and large-scale canvases. My techniques involve a range of techniques and processes including, drawing, painting, collage, printing and mixed media applications. My main subject matter is landscape and abstraction and many of my paintings are located somewhere between figurative and non-figurative approaches to image-making.
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