OLD CHESTER

It's got the period feel all right - somewhere, I have old photos of the village I grew up in, in two books published by a local photographer who took many of them himself; and others taken by his forebears, right back to around 1850 - your painting reminds me of them. Some of the houses and shops are still there, but hardly recognizable; others have long gone, including a local 'gaiety theatre', which I remember as a cinema known locally as 'the fleapit', because - it was! Can't help but wonder what it was like to live in those houses, but at least it should have been a lot quieter than village life today: no cars, no aeroplanes......

Very good work Michael

Interesting Michael. Its also a "different " view of Chester , certainly not a bit i know , i know Chester quite well. Nice sense of place . Good to see you back on here .

Thanks to you all. Sylvia - I doubt if much, if any, of it still exists. I quite enjoyed painting this although the penwork took much longer than the watercolour - in fact it took twice as long as I usually take with my watercolours. It actually looks really good in a modern frame and with an open studio event this weekend coming who knows - said he hopefully.

Lovely and full of character Michael.

Welcome back Michael, interesting to look back in time, with this good piece.

A quaint nostalgic view of buildings and life as it was Michael. Much quieter and less stressful than life today. A beautiful painting.

Ps, nice to to see you, to see you nice. 🙄

You've definitely caught the time. All the best for the Open Studio.

Thanks to you all - currently about to produce labels for the artwork then clean up the studio to make it presentable ready for open studios - being opened in association with the Harborough Cluster.

Michael... good to see you posting again, I've had a very lean spell but now out in Spain my enthusiasm is coming back slowly. A superb architectural piece indeed and quite a challenge - I love to challenge myself and this scene would fit the bill.

Thanks Alan - I envy you in Spain - my bolt hole is our apartment in Cyprus but don't get out there that often these days. I really got into this and might be doing a few more along these lines. Quite a challenge as you say especially in getting the pen work right but such good fun to do and very effective in a modern setting which quite surprised me.

What a great painting, Michael. Glad you are posting again!

Love the nostalgic feel to this :)

Thanks Mia and Sylvia - will be trying my hand at a few more in due course.

Beautifully detailed, Michael. The two people bring it to life.

Welcome back, Michael! And what a cracker to mark your return!

So good to see your lovely work again Michael. This is a super piece with loads of character, I'll bet things have changed there now!

Thanks so much Ellen, Seok and Margaret. It's now framed and does look good - thanks for kind comments.

Like this piece Michael , like the subject and your treatment of it,

Tu es jolie la nostalgie....gorgeous drawing Michael and good to see you here again.

Thanks Graham Thanks Satu: Oh oui, certains disent de bons moments mais je suis trop jeune pour me souvenir

It's a splendid piece Michael and I love the variety of lovely colours used in the houses

Thanks Dermot - colours used limited to: raw sienna, burnt sienna, light red, ultramarine and burnt umber. The only other colours used in the painting were cobalt blue and cad red for the slates on some houses.