The Road to Hawkchurch

My art skills were honed on the edge of the tiny village of Hawkchurch in Devon under the guidance of Tom Greenshields. The Westhay farm was rural, as most are, surrounded by earthen roads edged with dense growth of elder trees, prickly sloes and aged oak and chestnut trees where cows were driven from barn to pasture and back in a tradition that has lasted hundreds of years.

Along one of those roads early one morning Tom captured the moment forever in conte pencil. It was an image that always brought me back to Hawkchurch and one Christmas Tom surprised me and a number of others by presenting us with limited editions of the very image that I loved. Twenty-two of 200 prints, it is signed by Tom and in his spidery writing on the reverse is written 'A Happy Christmas from Tom'. I had almost forgotten that I had this piece as time has take its toll on the matboard as I hadn't had it framed. I will do so now to preserve it. I won't change the mats as even in their state of disrepair they still hold the edition number and Tom's signature and message.

technorati tags: Hawkchurch, Devon, Tom Greenshields, drawing, conte pencil