"No Cycling Today" (sold out edition)By : Deborah Susan Jones : Editor
The butcher's shop.Have
you ever explored small rural towns in search of inspiration? We do it
all the time. South Shropshire in the UK is full of wonderful
shops, many family owned and family run. The Butcher;s Shop in this
painting is in Ludlow, the most beautiful and distinctive market town
in South Shropshire. They sell all manner of local produce: Venison,
Game, local Lamb and eggs, all manner of genuine organic foodstuffs. It
stood near Woolworths (until Woolworths ceased trading - at time of
writing) and the market square which dates back centuries.Peter
was absolutely smitten by this particular butcher which can't have
changed much since the 1950s although it gives a feel for Tudor times
as well with its distinctive black and white paint livery. Though not
timbered it has the feel of ancient times. The local produce in the
window and inside whetted his visual appetite and the local staff are
very willing and efficient. As
for the pheasants or rabbits which hang outside - that thrilled him!
Being London born and bred where such sites were commonplace in his
chidhood he was (and is) fascinated by visions of a truly rural past
which still exist while such sites have mostly long since gone in his
native London.Painted
in oils, he has used fluid brush strokes to bring out the feeling and
details of the shop. Touches of Cadmium Barium Red, yellows, cool greys
and warn browns with natural colouring from earth pigments. A bicycle
for the delivery boy leans up against the wall with its inscription and
the door is part open in a welcoming gesture: a pleasing composition
and a popular one. Peter has used, as he always does, a
conveniently-sized handmade unique framed format which sits well on any
wall.The
Butcher's Shop painting sold (it is now sold out) at Pye Powder, our
Ludlow picture stockist situated in the area where back in Marches
history summary punishments were executed at the Court of Pye Powder
(the court of dusty feet). It is an amazing shop, selling as well as
paintings and prints, furniture of a quality country style and gifts
galore which are highly attractive and also whet the visual appetite. This
butcher's shop is literally on the spot of an historic site of a" Court
of Piepowders" (from Old French pied pouldre, literally "dusty feet",
meaning an itinerant trader, or pedes pulverizati) which as long ago as
The Middle Ages was a special tribunal organised by a borough on the
occasion of a fair or market due to the great numbers of people
attracted by same, and the instances of disturbances, and officials
were authorised to deliver unlimited summary jurisdiction including on
disputes between merchants, theft, and acts of violence.No
Cycling Today is painted in oil and framed in a studio-made, uniquely
styled and high quality Artist's frame and is unsurpassed in its
totality as an original art item. Indeed, its is "decidedly different".As it is now sold out you can only buy this on the secondary market, if you can locate it . . . . . Deborah Susan Jones : Editor
