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lighthouses | boats | piers | figurative

The individual unframed lighthouses are the first three of a planned series. Subject to demand, a further six are planned for 2009. The simple unframed lighthouses are made from wood washed up on the beach in Cornwall. When none is available, discarded scaffolding planks, otherwise heading for the skip, are used.

Each lighthouse is cut out by hand in Clive’s attic studio. All are freehand drawn, so vary from piece to piece. Where driftwood/sand features are included these are collected – mostly on bleak windy winter mornings from Porthmeor Beach in front of the Tate Modern – before the day’s beach walkers arrive. Where rope is used it is usually frayed weather-beaten discarded remnants washed up with the tide.

The paints used are ordinary household paints, mainly blue and white with the lighter blues simply thinned with tapwater or the white. Other than black, other colours are not often used unless by request – when Clive will use whatever is in the pot he is given – he just cannot see anything in the red/green spectrum.

The sea and sky effects are created by a very quick application of diluted blue emulsion paint flicked over sparingly with tiny streaks of B&Q gloss white. Patience is needed as it takes hours for the gloss white to dissipate as it wishes. For rougher effects, particularly the sea, B&Q white tile grout/adhesive is mixed with the emulsion paint.

Where frames are used they are all made by Clive on the same work-bench as the paintings. The finish is plain in B&Q White primer/undercoat, sometimes with emulsion. The frames' sizes and materials are integral to the picture. Whilst the plywood or MDF backs of the frames will be unseen against the wall, Clive sometimes experiments with left-over paint remnants to clean wet brushes. He enjoys the freedom of covering 20 or so square feet of surface in a few minutes with whatever is left on his brushes.

Clive sometimes uses black, white, and blue child’s crayons in foregrounds. He has found that subjected to many minutes of polishing with the nail on the third finger of his right hand, they are magical. No one can make out what has been used.

The few slatework pieces were a transitional period from sculpting – when he ran out of house/garden space. In effect they were “flat sculptures”. The slate used is from the Cornish Delabole quarry.

The original sculptures as shown in this website are not for sale as they have been outdoors in all winds and weathers since between 1968 -1989 to date. However, cast versions can be made available, subject to negotiation.

Click the links to enter the galleries:

lighthouses | boats | piers | figurative