The Portway Project

The beginning and the end

2009-03-06T13:39:00.000-08:00

Two of the last paintings to be completed were the Hemlock Stone and Mam Tor, the largest paintings in the series, reflecting their importance as the designated extremities of the Portway.

Described in Henry Sutton's wonderfully Victorian poem, there is a legendary link between Castleton near Mam Tor and the Hemlock Stone:

'............What convulsion made
Thy red neck rear itself so haughtily
Above these fields? What tempest sculptured thee?
What demon hurled thee here, a lonely rock?'

Folklore tells that the Hemlock Stone was ripped and hurled from the mouth of Peak Cavern, Castleton, by the devil: an attractively neat tale to encompass the Portway.

Portway Review

2009-03-06T13:24:00.000-08:00

Painters undertake journeys, as surely as the traders of old who ventured along the Derbyshire Portway; galvanic force behind Hambleton’s recent works. In facility and established genre her journey may well be approaching the sunny uplands; a rewarding stage of achievement and experience.

Synthesis of landscape, upon and by the Portway, is the artist’s preoccupation. The use of the large brush, and painting from the shoulder, assist that facility which nevertheless must retain an edge of feeling against the lull of fluency. Dark Lane has something of that edginess, as does the brittle graphicacy of the splendid pencil and crayon study Cratcliff.

Hambleton is at her most persuasive in transposition; that curious mental absorption of elements of perceived phenomena that are processed and rendered through a transforming pictorial language to become something else. Such is Dale Hermitage. A delightful work of glancing reference, but not craven before the subject.

There are hints of probable influences ; Derain, Hitchens, Paul Nash? But nowhere is this overt. Hambleton is simply of her time; open to the profligate cascades of images of art that technical replication now provides. Her on-the-spot confrontation of place and its uniqueness is key to ensuring varied responses and to each painting being itself a singular object.

John Fineran
March 2009

Snow!

2009-02-18T15:09:00.000-08:00

During early winter, I longed for snow, and the way it transposes the landscape. So much snow fell early this month that remnants still underline the walls. In paintings that come together quickly, I often leave negative white spaces of primed canvas, letting the composition breathe. Snow is a positive white, and quite different to paint. Ascending from the shadowed Lathkill at Alport, Dark Lane is a fragment of walled trackway. The stalks of last summer's maize, Naple's Yellow amongst the snow created an unexpected composition:

A 1960s booklet 'The Law of Footpaths' provided very apt collage:

All Saints Church, Dale

2009-02-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

Thank you to Cannon Ian Gooding for allowing me to spend an afternoon in the fascinating church at Dale. I have always been intrigued by church interiors, not crowded with worshippers, but empty spaces of contemplation, angled with daylight and thronged with definitive objects. Unlocking the door of All Saints with the weighty key revealed a cramped interior, oak enclosed, awkward box pews, pulpit wood twisting. I made several sketches: timber framed compositions, focussing on the simple windows. Below is the resulting studio painting, which utilises an old street map of Derby in the window:

Art of England

2009-02-01T15:25:00.000-08:00

I'm very excited to be featured in Art of England this month. It's a great article about the project, with plenty of images:

The magazine is available from WH Smith, Borders, art shops and galleries.....

Foraging

2009-01-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

A trip to the intriguing Scriveners Books in Buxton has instigated a new strand of work. Foraging through 5 floors of old books uncovered various Derbyshire guides and atlases. Carefully selected text and black and white images have been woven into this painting of Wirksworth:

Foraging at Black Rocks uncovered the red earth used in much of this work. Other walkers were fascinated by the sudden emergence of this vivid ochre in the woodland path:

Natural Pigments

2009-01-13T12:51:00.000-08:00

Historical research on the Portway has led me to information on natural pigments found close to the route, including ochres of such high quality that they were the basis for the colour works in the Cromford area.

In the past, many minerals have been mined and processed in the Peak District, often to make pigments. Lead compounds, all toxic, were used to make red, white and yellow. Zinc oxide was used for white and copper (from Ecton in the western Peak) to make blues and greens. Iron oxides (ochre and 'raddle') mined around Brassington, Cromford and Crich was used for yellows, oranges, browns and reds. Manganese compounds ('wads') from Hopton, Middleton, Cromford and Griffe Grange produced reddish purple, black and rich brown. Sooty types of coal were made into black paint. British Geological Survey

Last weekend, I set out with the Elk to Hopton - I had read that umber can be found in Doglow Wood. As we scaled the hillside, dodging mineshafts, I decided this was our most absurd adventure so far: what were my chances of finding brown umber in a large very brown woodland? Skirting the woodland, we discovered a large overgrown mine 'crater', recently excavated by badgers. In the huge piles of soil were lumps of black/brown material, clearly not soil.... At home that evening my precious finds were met with amused expressions, and mutterings about badger droppings. Finely ground and mixed with linseed oil, the colour is identical to Rowney Raw Umber, but suspended in my paint is adventure and satisfaction.

Careful heating has produced Burnt Umber, and added to the Portway Pigment range are a yellow sandstone from Black Rocks, ground and heated to a red shade; and a red clay from Aleck Low.

I am expecting a call from Longcliffe Quarry to let me know my ochre is ready for collection, so more paints to be made...... Here are a couple of drawings produced with the umber, sandstone, clay, and a black made from charcoal:

Top: Church of the Holy Trinity, Ashford in the Water, Below: Wardlow

Portway churches

2009-01-10T16:15:00.000-08:00

There are several intriguing churches on the Portway: the humble semi-detached chapel of All Saints at Dale; the elegant spired landmark of St. Matthew's, Morley; the imposing St. Mary's, Wirksworth, where Saxon stones enrich the medieval walls; and the 13th Century Church of Holy Trinity at Ashford in the Water.

Since Christmas I have been concentrating on the churches, sketching interiors and exteriors. The warm toned study of St. Mary's, Wirksworth reflects the welcome shelter from the freezing fog outside. The larger painting of Morley takes an unusual viewpoint, with flat areas of paint scored, crosshatched and patterned.

Walking with the expert

2008-12-20T03:36:00.000-08:00

On Thursday I walked the Dale Abbey to Morley church section of the route with Stephen Bailey who wrote the Portway guide. We attempted to walk, talk and record which involved far too much multi tasking for me! With some serious editing, I did get some good material for the film, but still a long way to go..... I learned so much in 3 1/2 miles - it made me realise that the project is a huge undertaking, covering nearly 50 miles of the county.

Exciting news today: Art of England magazine will cover the project in their March 2009 issue, which comes out in February. The deadline for the article is before Christmas, so rushed out in the fine weather this morning for a photo shoot!

A pint and a painting...........

2008-12-13T15:47:00.000-08:00

The Portway was used for trade and pilgrimage for centuries, so it's important that I focus on the human element - a good excuse for a night out at one of Derbyshire's most unusual and unmodernised pubs. Sitting at the junction of the old Portway road through Wardlow, and the 'Turnpike' at Wardlow Mires, real ale is served in a cramped room of the farmhouse. A group of men who had braved the fog in a steam engine unknowingly became the subject of various sketches. It's not the sort of place where you sit with sketch book and pencil, so memory had to suffice:

The grey village of Wardlow is spread thinly along a linear stretch of Portway. The village dates from the 13th century, but the history is ancient: a Neolithic barrow was discovered when the road was widened in the 18th Century, lying a mile north east of the lookout post of Fin Cop near Monsal Head. The sunset from Monsal Head is the subject of one of the first Portway paintings completed in the summer - the sun sets right in the notch of two hills - a perfect composition.

Sunset from Monsal Head

Wardlow

2008-12-13T05:46:00.000-08:00

Welcome to The Portway Project

In Summer 2008 I began work on a major project to record in paintings the ancient 50 mile route that crosses Derbyshire from Mam Tor to Stapleford. For some time I had been searching for a trackway to record, but those that I knew had no historical basis. Stephen Bailey's Portway walking guide, published in May 2008 (www.derbyshireportway.co.uk), introduced me to the perfect route and has proved invaluable.

I have decided to start a blog of the project since the pace is rapidly increasing, and the idea growing in many directions.

An exhibition of the paintings will take place at Tregoning Fine Art, Derby, in March 2009, and will be accompanied by a colour book and a short film. (www.tregoningfineart.com)

Above: Dale Abbey Hermitage (oil on canvas, 40 x 50cm)

Yesterday I met Stephen Bailey, who kindly commented on work so far. It was great to discuss the route with the expert, and we have decided to walk several sections together to record material for the film.

Work so far has concentrated on short sections of the route, particularly around Dale Abbey and Ashford in the Water:

Above: Ashford in the Water (oil on canvas, 60 x 30cm)

Visit www.lindseyhambleton.co.uk for more background info and images