Hull House Mugs

Old House In Hull, England

Georgian House Hull, England

Victorian House, Hull, England

Old Public House In Hull, England

At once a beautiful old house, and an icon of freedom perhaps, the Wilberforce house is tucked away in a walled English garden in Hull’s old town. I have known this building all my life, from infancy, when I shuddered at the sight of the chains and shackles used on slaves, and peeked with horror and fascination at the thick mud beyond the garden fence, that threatened to eat me alive, on the river Hull. The house is Georgian, its walls partly covered in foliage, its windows mysterious. The work is a lovely souvenir of Hull, a great gift and a wonderful addition to any collection.

Near The Prison, Hull

A famous and iconic Hull pub, filled with atmosphere, a place of ghosts and friendship. A lovely work that exudes Hull. An ideal gift, a wonderful souvenir. I have painted this scene before, but the pub, and what it stands for and what it reminds me of, continue to draw me.

The original work is at the Go Dutch Pancake House in Hull

Central Hull Pub, England

Public House, Barton Upon Humber

Public House, Kingston Upon Hull, England

Walking east, across the river Hull, I enjoy the stillness of Sunday morning. The pavement already feels warm, a scent of tarmac and the brine of the Humber. Unfamiliar now, memories of childhood stirred as I remember the direction of the road. I pause outside a pub, and I decide I want to paint it, enjoying its solidity and nostalgia. There is a red lion over the door, red bricks and chalk boards, an invitation to enter and enjoy a cheerful evening. The work is full of colour, a perfect souvenir of Hull, a great gift.

Driving out the city, along long, flat roads, I come to a huge pub, reminiscent perhaps of an Elizabethan manor, solid and imposing, English through and through. I have a pang of longing, for times long ago, for the smell of pub food and the tang of yeast and beer. The work is rich in detail, both simple and intricate. The pub sits under a wide East Yorkshire sky, with the promise of the flat plains and wolds beyond. A great addition to any collection of English art, a fantastic souvenir of Hull.

I was too young to remember pubs, having left the city before adulthood. I rediscovered them in later years, with the city’s cobbled High Street being especially wonderful. Filled with dark, cosy atmosphere, candlelight and rafters, the lingering smell of stale ale soaked into wooden floors. A place of magical romance and escape. I often imagine Victorian Hull here, swirling mist and the ghostly sound of foghorns, rattling carriages and the clopping of hooves. This work depicts a favourite historical pub on the High Street and makes a perfect gift and a great addition to any collection.

I walked alone through Hull, the city on the edge of my childhood world. As years pass, the cityscape changes, ebbs, decays and regrows. Yet Hull always takes me back in time and place to the earliest years of my life. I love to explore, to reaffirm and to day dream. An earliest memory is of seeing derelict buildings that seemed to be returning to nature, with tree branches growing through roofs and windows. I saw this now empty pub, shuttered and probably lost, and decided to paint it. I used collage, thick paint and vivid colour, and I wanted to capture the bright light and vivid hues. The work is an ideal and unique souvenir of Hull, a perfect gift too.

High Street, Hull, England

Pub In Hull With Flour Mill Behind

Pub In Cottingham

A walk across the river Hull took me to a road called Strawberry Street, a place of industry and urban landscapes, a place that was quiet, at this time of day even desolate. I remembered times long gone, half a century ago when this was the area where my father worked, in a factory surrounded by walls and wire, red brick and the scent of tar. Seagulls woop. Trucks rumble by in the distance, fresh from the ferry port. And I stop to admire the pub, closed now, its net curtains hiding the interior. It reminds me of Victorian times, of foggy nights and the ghostly sound of piano music perhaps. But maybe Strawberry Street is playing tricks on me. This work makes an ideal souvenir of Hull, a great gift, or a perfect collection starter.