This little gem of a canal is in the heart of Manchester – or is it Salford? I’d better check. Yep, it’s Manchester. This is the progress of the painting of Castlefields Basin.
I love canals, I grew up near the Rochdale Canal and it was always a go to place. Even though there was very little water in it and the lock gates were replaced with a concret block, it was a tranquil place. That and the proximity to Mars. It was common knowledge that, if you were outside the railings during delivery times, the probability of boxes being broken “by accident! and it raining down chocolate bars was high. We might possibly have uttered words of encouragement.
The painting started out as the usual photo transferred onto paper and then masked over. This is the graphite stage.
Then the first change begins. A thorough wash to cover over all the remaining white paper, and then splashes of ink.
The inks are built up in layers. With a detailed piece like this, it’s better to do more layers than to try and complet it in one go. Especially if I want the bright colours to stay vibrant. I’ve been caught out many a time by wandering sepia or dark blue.
The dramatic transformation here hides the length of time it took to transform the work in progress above, to the completed picture below.
Castlefield Basin was completed for the Good Estate Agency’s Nordoff Robbins Charity Ball in 2018. Here it is on display.
Enjoy my Manchester work? Why not check out my Manchester portfolio?
