Trees in Knole Park, Sevenoaks, Kent.
From the top of St Nicholas' church, upper High Street, Sevenoaks with Knole Park beyond and Sevenoaks School (1432) below. How I got this very large canvas up and down the tower's winding stairs I will never really know. The painting now hangs in the church with 13 Christian symbols (Ichthys) hidden in the picture. An idea I had from Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Last Supper' painting.
A farm in the Weald of Kent.
Shoreham Heavy Horse Show.
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, Syria.
Painting near Penshurst, Kent.
Deer at Knole Park.
Oast House, Kent.
Charcott south of Sevenoaks, Kent.
Trafalgar Dawn.
Dhows on the beach at Mirbat, Dhofar, Oman.
Lyndisfarne, Holy Island. Northumberland.
Henry VIII's Knole House (1455-1608). My next door neighbour for 55years. I played golf at Knole Park for 27years, and was so bad at it I found places in the park, looking for my golf balls, that not even any of the 2,000 deer knew existed. Never mind.......they say the best wood in the bag is the pencil.
I found this lovely scene south of Tunbridge Wells and I had a lovely week painting in the height of summer.
South of Weald Village.
Surprised deer. Out walking I saw this deer with his head down. I got my camera ready, made a slight cough and as he lifted his head took the photo. I wish it was always as easy as this and also loved painting his portrait that week.
Weald Village, south of Sevenoaks. Another really lovely few days I had painting this scene.
The Vine Cricket ground (1773) Sevenoaks. I painted this scene during the Vine's Cricket Week. With the seven (actually now eight........don't ask!) oak trees around the bottom end of the pitch. I was painting here in 1979 and met a man who witnessed a plane land on the pitch and later managed to take off again, just, during WWI. Also, a lady used to stop everyday and have a chat. She turned out to be the mother of Stuart Sutcliffe, the Beatles original Bass player. He left the band to pursue a career as an artist, but tragically died in Hamburg in 1962.
Chris, our postman bravely enduring the elements.
I came across this lovely rural scene and heard that there was planning permission to rebuild the whole site. So took the chance to capture it on canvas before it disappeared.
Painting Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland.
This view is from a small narrow foot-bridge over an extremely deep gorge in the surrounding mountains overlooking King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria. Although quite an effort to get to the bridge as it was snowing heavily, but the view is tremendous and so couldn't resist painting it.
Tonbridge Oasts. 28"X24"
Wadi Rum, Jordan......a spectacular scenic experience.
Mount Everest, Nepal (from Kala Patthar). L/E prints carrying the original signatures of Sir Ed Hillary, Rebecca Stephens, Doug Scott and Sir Chris Bonington. After I had travelled, including to NZ, around the UK obtaining the four signatures I needed, I came up with another mad idea of getting all the surviving members of the 1953 British Everest Expedition to sign a further 20 prints. It was a great privilege to meet and obtain the signatures of; Charles Wylie, George Band, Michael Westmacott, Alf Gregory, Sir Ed Hillary, George Lowe and Michael Ward. Doug Scott during his lecture tours would auction off the prints, and the money raised helped the outlying villages in the Nepalese hills including the building of bridges and schools etc.... I'm very pleased to say the prints have long since sold out.
Sir Chris Bonington, Doug Scott, Rebecca Stephens and myself signing the Everest prints.
The par three 8th at Knole Park GC, Sevenoaks. Sometimes, not often, I would even par this lovely hole. It's a well-known location as the Beatles came down to film their 'promo' for the songs Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane here over two days in January 1967. To my everlasting shame my mother said would I like to see the Beatles in Knole Park? I said 'no' (I was not quite 7yrs old)................as the song goes 'regrets, I've had a few'; this one of them.