Neil Davies - Painter

Braving the elements

N E I L DAVI ES

Braving the elements

N E I L DAV I E S 13 July – 7 September 2013

NEW CRAFTSMAN GALLERY

Cover: First Spring gorse on the path to Treen Cove

122 x 122 cm

Although meaning to look at skies today, it is the gorse which insists on grabbing my attention. Suddenly it is everywhere, last week a few scrubby, winter-battered bushes, today a riot of gold and yellow, almost pulsating with intensity of colour. So for once the sky can take a back seat.

24 Fore Street ¡ St Ives Cornwall TR26 1HE 01736 795652 www.newcraftsmanstives.com The full exhibition can be viewed on our website.

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NEIL DAVIES – Braving the elements The theme of this collection of work came to me one day when I was out walking up on the moor. It was a particularly wild day: it was difficult to remain upright in the almost gale force wind, and the ice-cold rain was sheeting sideways, needle-sharp, so that I had to turn up my collar and cover my face as best I could with hat and scarf.

Luckily for me, this was just temporary: the landscape, the wildlife, the vegetation, has to take whatever nature throws at it, adapt and survive.

In the far west of Cornwall, this amazing place that is West Penwith, nature is at its most elemental.Violent storms blow in from the Atlantic with little warning, howling wind and rain lash across the land, waves batter the coastline, and, in settled weather, the sun beats down on the earth, which has little protection from trees or woodland. It is this weather which defines the landscape around us.

Looking around, it is easy to spot the survivors in this unique environment.Trees are notably absent, the thin soil covering the granite bedrock too sparse for their roots.

Small hardy Belted Galloways graze the heath land, oblivious to the elements. Elder bushes abound, their branches twisted into strange contortions by the prevailing wind.Tamarisk, salt-loving and hardy, tolerates

even the wildest Atlantic storms. Bracken, heather and a host of other low-growing plants populate the moorland, pink thrift and sea campion cling to the cliff edges, and, for me, most iconic of all, the vibrant gorse, triumphant and flamboyant, laughing in the face of the storm, a true survivor.

Some humans, too, have to endure these conditions.

Granite, strong, tough, and resilient, is their building material of choice, and these dwellings can be seen in isolated, windswept places across Penwith, standing firm for hundreds of years.

This spring, wild, cold and windy, has been by all accounts a bad one, although it has given me plenty of inspiration for this body of work. But still, against the odds, first the daffodils, then the bluebells, campion, stitchwort, have all struggled through, the gorse is in full bloom, and the continuity of the landscape is assured.

As I write this in mid-June, the wind is raging again, howling through the rafters of my studio perched high up not far from the coast, rain hammers against the windows, buffeting the whole building, and I reflect that my studio is in fact a survivor too, braving the elements.

Neil Davies, June 2013

Low clouds, Cape Cornwall 122 x 165 cm

All works are oil on board

Looking across from Kenidjack, no wind for once.The clouds hang in the sky, suspended above the Cape, displaying a wide palette of colours from inky blues and violet to copper and gold. It is eerily still.

Cottage through the gorse at Poldhu

Cornish hedge and beyond

61 x 76 cm

61 x 76 cm

Early spring, and the gorse is turning a vibrant gold. Here it practically forms a hedge, innocent yellow buds disguising the prickles underneath. In the distance is a glimpse of human habitation – a lone white cottage basking amidst the vegetation.

A spring walk from Poldhu down to the cove and along the coast path.The buzzards are about today, wheeling overhead, and we stop to admire a pair of pigs of some ancient breed, over the wall.

In the distance looms Carn Galver, still clothed in last winter’s bracken.

Shafts of light through Winter sky 122 x 122 cm Standing at Priest Cove, sky watching again.Today the clouds have come together to form a giant bruise hovering over the landscape. Suddenly a shaft of light breaks through, lighting up a section of the Cape, and although it is bitterly cold, I am reluctant to leave.

Gathering storm clouds From the shoreline, Priest Cove 46 x 61 cm Looking out to sea, watching the clouds racing as the wind gets up.

The sea is choppy, there's a strong smell of ozone, and I am struck as ever by the wild beauty of the north Cornish coast.

61 x 76 cm A wintry day, bleached of colour.The wind is much in evidence, blustering across Kenidjack Castle, continuously changing the landscape, breaking up the sky. Land and sea, colours merging, seem to converge on each other, so it's hard to see where each begins and ends.

Gulls and other birds are buffeted around, and I can hardly stand upright. Hopefully this is the storm before the calm.

Winter light floods across the moor Along the coast path 46 x 61 cm Brisk walk down to Treen Cove. Spring greens are appearing, blotting out the browns and yellows of winter.

Sun comes out briefly and picks out the whitewashed cottages of Treen behind.

Looking forward to a pint and a packet of posh crisps at The Gurnard’s Head on the way home.

46 x 58 cm Up on Lady Downs, determined to have our Sunday walk in spite of the wind and cold, lashing rain.

The boys are bouncing with pent-up energy, it is boggy and peaty underfoot, and the occasional tussock knocks us off balance.The landscape is bleak, stark, but wildly beautiful. We look longingly across at the lone granite cottage and decide to head for home.

Storm blowing in 61 x 76 cm Wind picking up sharply, blue sky and high white clouds which were there half an hour ago have been replaced by dark storm clouds racing across the sky, obliterating the sun.

The sea has turned from a benevolent, gently shifting body of water into a restless creature, tumbling over itself, glinting with grey hostility.The headland is engulfed in low cloud, Nature is holding its breath, and a storm now seems inevitable.

Perched on the edge above crashing waves 79 x 102 cm Family walk round Treen, following the coast path. Stopped to look back at the cottage round which we had just followed the snaking path, and realised how close to the edge it is, standing precariously but defiantly above the waves crashing on the cliffs below.

Dakota Farm, alone on the horizon

61 x 76 cm

Driving across the moor from Penzance to Zennor, my eyes are drawn, as always, to the cluster of buildings which make up Dakota Farm, reputedly haunted. Up here amidst this timeless, ever-changing yet constant landscape, I find myself believing all the Cornish folklore.This land belongs to nature and the ancient spirits, and humans seem out of place here.

Right

Light pouring over Sennen

122 x 122 cm

On the beach, watching a couple of brave surfers. A recent downpour is clearing away, and the sun is trying to re-establish itself.There is a sudden break in the clouds, and sunlight streams through like liquid gold, bouncing off the wet sand and lifting the spirits.

Small red fishing boat

Storm clearing over Porthledden

61 x 76 cm

79 x 102 cm

A stormy day at Priest Cove.The sky is darkening, but there are still glimmers of light catching the waves near the shore. Not many boats here today, but this little fishing boat catches my eye, safely hauled up from the approaching storm.

After a stroll down Kenidjack valley, being blustered and rained on all the way, we reach Porthledden as the storm is abating. Coppers and umbers drift across the sky, but it is still bleak and wintry.Time to head back up the valley for Sunday lunch at the pub.

Deep blue sky with drifting cloud

Walking the dog

43 x 43 cm

46 x 61 cm

Late spring, and winter has relinquished its hold at last.There is heat in the sun, and the swallows are darting around catching flies.The sky is largely a rich, velvety blue, patches of white cloud cutting across it, creating an ever-changing geometrical pattern like a kaleidoscope.

On the beach on a rare hot summer’s day, watching a lifeguards’ pick-up driving through the surf.

A man and his dog are having a great time in the shallows – the stick is thrown again and again, the dog retrieves it without fail, and neither seems to tire of the game.

Galloways grazing, Rosemergy 30 x 35 cm

Weathered field granite with gorse and bluebells

Early summer, swallows darting around.The landscape is predominantly green now, and I stop to survey the Belted Galloways grazing in their field of lush grass.They are hardy creatures, and can be seen dotted across the Penwith landscape, keeping down the bracken.

A pair of buzzards mew high above me, wings outstretched, and a cockerel crows in the distance.

Surely this must be the epitome of the pastoral idyll.

Heading up to Carnstabba through the fields at Consols, we come across this lump of granite sitting immovably in the middle of the field, decked out in all its spring glory like a wedding guest.

Covered in soft green and brown lichen, encircled by bluebells, and topped by a small, bright gorse bush, it is the essence of the Penwith landscape.

46 x 61 cm

Living on the moor 30 x 35 cm April, sunny but still very cold, a feature of spring this year. A solitary grey granite cottage squats darkly, in stark contrast to the emerging colours of nature.

Early Spring, first flash of gorse

30 x 35 cm

Out with my sketch book and camera, late March.

Still really cold, but the gorse is braving the elements.

One small bush glows brightly amidst the darker colours of earth, bracken and granite, livening up the whole landscape.

Setting sun over Land's End 46 x 43 cm At last, a beautiful, warm spring day. After a day spent walking the landscape, I have ventured further west, with a flask and a slice of cake, and sit watching the sun go down. Light show over, I head for home.

Another day begins 30 x 35 cm Awake really early this morning, and the day looked promising, so headed down to St. Ives to watch the sun rise over the bay. Most of the town is still asleep, except for a few fisherman going about their business. All is as it should be, at least in this corner of the world.

NEW CRAFTSMAN GALLERY