While I was in Manchester I absolutely had to visit The Lowry; theatre and gallery complex at Salford Quays with a permanent Lowry exhibition. My beachscapes contain an element of ‘matchstick men’ with lots of people on the beach and in the water. While they feel like a world away from the mill scenes and industrial landscapes of Lowry’s work; where the figures are often leaning forward with heads down moving towards their destination rather than enjoying being where they are, many people are reminded of Lowry when they look at my Beachscape paintings.
I enjoyed studying his sketches and a handful of paintings at the exhibition, including ‘Coming from the Mill’ 1930 a characteristic mill scene, a controversial painting called ‘The Cripples’ 1949 and ‘Industrial Landscape’ 1953 show an expanse of industry reaching as far as the eye can see.
I enjoy the way the backgrounds are depicted; almost like a pencil-style outline, which pushes back the buildings and allows you to focus on the activity in the foreground. Similar to my beachscapes there are lots of people activities to look for in his paintings; mother and pram, dogs, children playing - it was an inspiring visit and while I intend to keep my brightly coloured coastal views rather than use the muted tones of Lowry, perhaps I’ll do a few more beachscapes which include cliffs or buildings perhaps - inspired by Lowry…
“I just painted what I saw… or the way I saw it” LS Lowry.
