Jervaulx (2022)

Original media: Inks, gouache, acrylics, watercolour, 23 carat gold leaf and gold thread.

Painted for 'Whispering Ruins' – an exhibition of paintings based on North Yorkshire Abbeys at Chantry House Gallery, Ripley.

In Autumn 2021, I took a little road trip to draw abbeys in North Yorkshire. On my second day away I got up early and drove to Jervaulx for first light. I think it was the last weekend for autumn colours before the storms stripped the trees. Jervaulx is so unlike manicured Fountains Abbey or Rievaulx. It’s romantic and overgrown with brambles and wild flowers. One little enclosed corner was full of gold finches. There are drystone walls which, on closer inspection, are built of blocks of figured stone; pieces of pillar, tops of arches, the occasional stone flower. It’s an enchanted place, all the more so for having it all to myself.

Available as a signed limited edition print, hand-finished with gold leaf and gold thread. All prints are mounted and can be posted, unless purchased framed.