Ledges Series

This series shown on the Ledges gallery page represents quite early work, and paintings here date from 2011-2012. They still relate well to Dick's subsequent work.

The Ledges Series consists of a number of paintings, all nominally 12 x 12" (30.5 x 30.5 cm) on canvas. These paintings are concerned with the Kimmeridge Ledges and Flats, in the Purbecks. The Ledges and Flats on the Kimmeridge shore are partly or completely covered by the sea at high tide. These works are sometimes read as semi-abstract. Though to an extent figurative, there can be a degree of deliberate ambiguity.

Dick has lived in Dorset since 1970. From 1970 to 2002 he taught Biology at a local Grammar School. He was always very interested in teaching practical fieldwork, and for many years led A level residential Ecology field courses based in the Purbecks. One of the sites they used for these studies was the shore at Kimmeridge, especially the Flats and Ledges. Through teaching (and learning) at Kimmeridge over those decades Dick became closely familiar with the Kimmeridge shoreline, and with the natural processes which create the visual richness of the place. The visual and tactile close-up experience of the Ledges has fed into the individual Ledges Series works.

The colours in these paintings are closely related to the colours Dick sees in this special part of the Dorset coast, and in these he uses a fairly restricted palette.

Gallery link: The Ledges (Kimmeridge) series