About Sennen / dark pool
I started drawing Sennen in response to my XGen CV series, sometime back in the Spring. Like XGen, it takes on the idea of creating an underlying grid structure and then building some kind of framework around it, that pushes the geometry in some unexpected and hopefully quite lyrical ways.
I don’t know if it’s immediately apparent, but I’ve been enjoying and deconstructing some of Sonia Delaunay’s work. I’m attracted by the way she lays out her geometry, with a beautifully loose feel, and a great eye for colour. There’s something of real joy there, and I’m intrigued and keen to explore the way she builds an image out of interlocking forms, as opposed to making the work from a singular whole, which is more normally the approach I would use. To some extent I find this to be a more ‘designed’ way to approach a work. It allows for far more freedom to move and modulate the colour blocks and image areas than I would normally feel able to do. As always, it ultimately comes down to trusting the process and allowing the work to flow in the moment.
The drawing started out with what I think of as a Peacock palette, greens and blues mostly, but as it progressed I added in some sandy oranges and yellows, and some whites and light blues, so it seems to me to have moved into something nearer to a kind of abstracted landscape. But maybe that’s just me!
I’ve titled it Sennen, a beautiful beach not too far from here, deep into west Cornwall. It’s a place I’ve visited a few times, memorably with an old friend who is sadly no longer with us. I find myself living with his memory now, and it gives me some real pleasure to think of him enjoying lazy days in Cornwall, with our families.
It’s certainly intended to capture something of the summer at a coastal location, a perfect day out on the beach or langorous walk along a headland perhaps.
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By coincidence, and I do almost always find that my titles somehow seep from my subconscious into my conscious mind from several quite disparate thoughts as I work, Sennen is also the title of a sublime track by Ride, one of the great bands of my generation, to my mind! I’m including the link here.
When I had a studio on Greek St in London, I remember needing a new amp for the space, so I headed off to Tottenham Court Road with a copy of the EP, to test out a few in a high end listening room there. The attendant was horrified at my choice of track, suggesting that we might be better off audio testing something altogether more open and upbeat. I wasn’t going to be put off of course, so for a little while the shop was filled with the sound of Sennen, playing through some amazing audiophile equipment I couldn’t dream of affording, either then or now.
As covid abates I find myself living in a time that seems to be opening up again, which is great, but has nevertheless delivered me to a place where my memory seems to play a larger part in my day to day practice than it ever used to. Maybe that’s just a component of age! I’m not sure...
Sennen in situ and in the studio
Price and dimensions
Sennen / dark pool is a limited edition metallic pigment print on Hahnemühle 340gsm 100% cotton fine art paper; individually signed and editioned with a unique catalogue raisonné number for guaranteed authenticity.
The work can be supplied unframed or framed and ready to hang. I tend to recommend mounting the work in a fairly minimal tulipwood frame with a Diasec mount to Plexiglass. If you’d like to discuss other framing options to suit your space please do get in touch.
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From an edition of 24, plus 4 APs
Image size ⋅ 74cm H x 74cm W
Artwork only, ready to frame ⋅ £1,800
Mounted behind Plexiglass and fitted with a hidden subframe ⋅ £2,200
Mounted behind Plexiglass and fitted with a wooden tray frame ⋅ £2,400
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Dimensions and framing specs can be varied on request, to suit your space.
Please do get in touch here if you’d like to discuss possibilities >
Associated works
