Allotment Shed
Mixed media painting
60 x 60 cm
framed in natural wood float frame
Back in the Spring of 2022, when the lockdowns were easing, the passionate allotment holders of Long Leys Road became under threat of losing their plots to a “community” development. Naturally, having nurtured their plots for twenty or more years in some cases, improving the soil, digging deep, building their sheds and becoming very productive, they were upset about the proposals to move them elsewhere. As if one could just move from a beautifully kept productive piece of land to an area which had not been cultivated, ever, and all would be well.
So in order to gain support for their cause they held an open day for the locals to see what they do. I duly attended and was amazed by the variety in the uses to which people put their allotments. There are those which are like an intensively farmed market garden, neat rows and deeply cultivated soil, one that is an orchard where visitors are welcome to sit, some where there are raised beds surround by uncultivated areas, and some which are a tangle of brambles with a patch cut out where there might be an attempt at growing potatoes or beans.
The things that inspired me most were the sheds: so many different styles and materials! Yes some were conventional sheds, bought as one, but the majority are cobbled together from sheets of corrugated tin, old used doors and windows, random pieces of wood, plastic sheets, scaffold poles. Some are beautifully kept, with a verandah and a chair for relaxing, while others are covered in vine and almost obscured.
After taking a few photographs and doing some sketching, this was the result. You will not find this allotment as it is an amalgamation, painted in support of Allotment Holders everywhere.
Mixed media painting
60 x 60 cm
framed in natural wood float frame
Back in the Spring of 2022, when the lockdowns were easing, the passionate allotment holders of Long Leys Road became under threat of losing their plots to a “community” development. Naturally, having nurtured their plots for twenty or more years in some cases, improving the soil, digging deep, building their sheds and becoming very productive, they were upset about the proposals to move them elsewhere. As if one could just move from a beautifully kept productive piece of land to an area which had not been cultivated, ever, and all would be well.
So in order to gain support for their cause they held an open day for the locals to see what they do. I duly attended and was amazed by the variety in the uses to which people put their allotments. There are those which are like an intensively farmed market garden, neat rows and deeply cultivated soil, one that is an orchard where visitors are welcome to sit, some where there are raised beds surround by uncultivated areas, and some which are a tangle of brambles with a patch cut out where there might be an attempt at growing potatoes or beans.
The things that inspired me most were the sheds: so many different styles and materials! Yes some were conventional sheds, bought as one, but the majority are cobbled together from sheets of corrugated tin, old used doors and windows, random pieces of wood, plastic sheets, scaffold poles. Some are beautifully kept, with a verandah and a chair for relaxing, while others are covered in vine and almost obscured.
After taking a few photographs and doing some sketching, this was the result. You will not find this allotment as it is an amalgamation, painted in support of Allotment Holders everywhere.
Mixed media painting
60 x 60 cm
framed in natural wood float frame
Back in the Spring of 2022, when the lockdowns were easing, the passionate allotment holders of Long Leys Road became under threat of losing their plots to a “community” development. Naturally, having nurtured their plots for twenty or more years in some cases, improving the soil, digging deep, building their sheds and becoming very productive, they were upset about the proposals to move them elsewhere. As if one could just move from a beautifully kept productive piece of land to an area which had not been cultivated, ever, and all would be well.
So in order to gain support for their cause they held an open day for the locals to see what they do. I duly attended and was amazed by the variety in the uses to which people put their allotments. There are those which are like an intensively farmed market garden, neat rows and deeply cultivated soil, one that is an orchard where visitors are welcome to sit, some where there are raised beds surround by uncultivated areas, and some which are a tangle of brambles with a patch cut out where there might be an attempt at growing potatoes or beans.
The things that inspired me most were the sheds: so many different styles and materials! Yes some were conventional sheds, bought as one, but the majority are cobbled together from sheets of corrugated tin, old used doors and windows, random pieces of wood, plastic sheets, scaffold poles. Some are beautifully kept, with a verandah and a chair for relaxing, while others are covered in vine and almost obscured.
After taking a few photographs and doing some sketching, this was the result. You will not find this allotment as it is an amalgamation, painted in support of Allotment Holders everywhere.
Also available as a limited edition print.
