Seacourt Stream

For the past 40 years, John has followed the Seacourt stream in Oxford

He explained: “Painting the same scene from the same spot over the years has a certain logic; it enables me to see through the work how the place changes from day to day, year on year. When I started painting the stream in the 1970s, the water was bordered by a wire-fenced cattle pasture, and framed by poplars, willows and elms in the distance; today it is overwhelmed by trees (mostly willows) a hive of activity for the wildlife. Also, in painting the same thing over and over again the process allow elements within the frame to crystallize as marks and shapes that seem right.”

One copse of trees I paint line alongside the Seacourt Stream

…a mixed deciduous group dominated by a range of willows. The challenge is reflecting the way trees clamour for the light. When I started painting here 35 years ago, the river edges were bare and fenced for cattle. Poplars and willows stood in the distance. Now I am fighting tree and climbing rose even to have a look in. This has led to a development in the range of marks I use, building a series of layers that combine flat dark or light planes broken by strike and stutter marks. The marks reflect a quickening of pace and a shorthand established to help record the changes. The layered dropping canopy as it stretches to capture the light over water has become the structure.