Manchester Red – Digital Prints

Manchester Red – Original Painting

About the Image

Sir Matt Busby stands proud with a hand casually in his pocket, the other cradling a leather ball. Matt Busby, manager and father figure, creator of a legacy. Above him the word Manchester in red, the rest of the sign off to the right outside the picture boundary. These two symbols are all that’s required to identify this as Manchester United’s Old Trafford Stadium. Home to the team and Mecca to adoring fans from all over the world. Watching the highs and the lows, week by week, devoting themselves to the beautiful game and team they love.

From our viewpoint we see a wall of glass, rising up behind Sir Matt. Reflections and shadows of the great man and the team’s name. Add depth to the scene. Shadows of the past perhaps? Present always but not distracting from the here and now. Celebrating the hero, in the eyes of the team and fans alike

The eye is drawn between those two points of the focus.. Elsewhere in two places., you can see hints of the teams crest behind the glass. The rest is barriers, shading and structure framing abstract blooms of coloured ink. Patches of purple and marine blue.

The stadium is crowned with a white frame in blue and purple shadow. Tendrils of ink bleed out from the geometric structure in a few places, but do not over power the scene.

Like many institutions that have survived over 100 years, the history of Manchester United is littered with highs and lows . Manchester United may have experienced greater extremes than most, with the tragedy in Munich followed by it’s restoration to glory. Forming a new team in the wake of a tragedy where so many young lives were lost. It’s the story of a Pheonix rising from the flames of destruction that has inspired many. There’s always work to do with any team, success and failure are both temporary states. We may try to extend the highs but, soon enough, the focus is on the next match or season.

Creation: The original picture Manchester Blue was initially drawn with pencil onto watercolour paper on board. These lines were then drawn over using masking fluid and then painted using watercolour paint and acrylic ink. Salt was also used in the process and some of the ink blown around using a straw. Once the painting was dry the masking fluid was removed to reveal the finished painting.