Ten years on from Paintings 1995-2011 my new exhibition will take place at the Corsham Court Campus of Bath Spa University. “Cadmium Thread: Local to Global Paintings 2011-2021” is scheduled for April-May 2021. The title painting represents the link between paintings of the past and present. Next to Vermeer’s “The Lacemaker” in the Louvre is “The Astronomer.” Interested as he was in science, Vermeer could hardly have imagined that, one day, beings as transient as he was would stand before his tiny masterpiece, click a photo on their phone, and send the image elsewhere in the city or across the world.

PEOPLE

“Cadmium Thread” is one of several Paris paintings 2019-21, a major element of the exhibition. From the People Gallery, these will also include “Allez Les Bleu,” “Attendant,” “Beaubourg Break,” “Inventory,” “Métro,” “Sully 936,” “Reflections,” “Rue de Bellechasse” and “Smile.”

Such paintings depict aspects of my experience of living in the city. Art galleries are of particular interest to me, and I’ve tried out different styles to reflect the art and people I witness. But I observe people in other places, too, for instance on the métro. There will also be some People paintings from other parts of the world, such as “Science Lesson, Kitale.”

PLACES

From the Places Gallery, the exhibition paintings will include “Eurostar,” “Lockdown,” “RER,” “Trocadero Rain” and “A View from Sacré Coeur.” The emphasis in these paintings is primarily on setting, with people only evident from a distance if at all.

PORTRAITS

From the Portraits Gallery, I’ll be including one set in Paris, of novelist Samantha Harvey. Sam told me that Sainte-Chapelle was her “favourite place in the world,” so I’ve had her materialise there. I like to reflect something personal to the individual when painting a portrait.

The exhibition will include portraits of several other writers and musicians, including Clarence Clemons, Maggie Gee, Geoff Hadley, Arthur Miller, Joyce Carol Oates, Bruce Springsteen, William Styron and Fay Weldon. Portraiture is challenging and rewarding enough anyway, but takes on another dimension when the subject is a celebrity. You can view these, too, in the Portraits Gallery.