I met a very interesting man today. His name is Dave Crocker and he is
an artist. He was standing on the beach at Wembury where I’d taken my parents
for the morning. His landscape of the beach and rocks with the tide out and the
Mewstone in the distance was outstanding. Done in oils he’d captured the light
and the sheer variety of colours (greens, purples, golds and blues) with a deft
touch and an expert eye. Texture shape and form were excellent. Out in the sun
it was a pleasure to watch the long pauses and gazing off to the horizon followed
by these swift but delicate brush strokes. What an extraordinary eye for detail
and a deep appreciation of how a landscape evolves during the day.
What I really liked was his passion and enthusiasm. He was prepared to
engage with anyone who showed an interest. His passion and a sense of awe and
wonder poured out of him. He had a deep appreciation of the importance of art
for young people and was keen to share this passion with all on the beach….and
wow did people engage with him. How could you not…an artist with a skill who
wants to share his passion!
His current project is very interesting and appealed to me immediately. Over
a coffee, he outlined what he was trying to do. It is quite awe inspiring in a
way. He is currently working on his South west Coastal path Project which he
started on the 21st of May. The project premise is simple….. Dave is
going to paint 365 oil paintings in exactly one year with all paintings being
created entirely outdoors irrespective of the weather. All the paintings will
be along our long distance SW coastal path. His first expedition of 73
paintings done between Mountbatten and Wembury will be in an exhibition at the ‘Re
legacy’ gallery in New Street on the Barbican from 2nd to 5th August (this week).
One of Dave's Paintings
It's the Jennycliffe Cafe and looking south along the coast towards Bovisand Fort
Jennycliffe is on the eastern side of Plymouth Sound behind the Mountbatten headland with its breakwater and old Flying Sunderland boat hangars
I will be definitely going. I can appreciate passion about something.
All boat builders can. An eye for detail, line, shape, structure; the wonderment
and joy of creating something; the pleasure over taking time to work out
problems and solutions; the joy in getting varnish to flow smoothly and dry
without brush marks. The pride in cutting a joint with a precise fit; the
recognition of what it takes to be a craftsman; the desire to try and achieve a
minuscule amount of what they achieve daily.
If you live locally, call in at Dave’s exhibition. I suspect it will be
well worth it.
Steve
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