About the artwork

Summer on the Downs is an original, very large oil painting on canvas, of a South Downs landscape with poppies and swallows. It is 36x60x1.5 inches. This is an exuberant and happy painting that reflects the abundance of summer with its use of bright red poppies, the hint of buttercups and other wildflowers, green meadows and gentle hills. Two swallows swoop over it using the valley as their playground. They are common visitors to Sussex and England generally in the summer and are shown here directing a little magic over the scene. In the far distance you can just see the glimmer of the sea as you also can when walking the South Downs way. The style is semi abstract and slightly art nouveau and uses a wide range of vibrant rainbow colours. This is the second painting I completed whilst in Coronavirus lockdown and reflects my love for walking in Sussex and for the summertime poppies that grow in abundance in July and August. I have a particular happy memory from a few years ago of driving along a duel carriageway near Brighton and seeing a massive field of poppies on a hill with lots of people prancing through it. A number of them had parked illegally and had simply bundled into the poppies from sheer joy. I loved the rebelliousness of it and this painting is dedicated to them and everyone else who can’t wait to get back into the beautiful landscape again. Painted on deep edge canvas, white edges, no frame needed, ready to hang. https://youtu.be/c84o9GKGnjg