Original artwork description:

This is the painting described by a barmaid (who shall remain nameless) as "bloody awful !", Of course she's wrong. Even so, I can offer it at a lower than usual price! Why?

Well... The barmaid was almost right in one sense: it's what a potter would call a 'second' I guess. Drying inconsistencies have transformed its qualities though not entirely to its complete detriment.

The story behind the barmaid's comment is that I had gone into the pub with the painting in a carrier bag having just come from John Blight's gallery in Camelford where I had talked to John about the drying problems I was experiencing and had taken this painting down as an example. It was a dark Cornish pub and the barmaid insisted on seeing the painting. Of course by now the whole pub was interested. She made her spontaneous, quite reasonable comment on seeing the offending work unveiled. I retaliated with "Well, it's very dark in here. You should see it by the window." Over we trooped, "No," she said, "it's still bloody awful !"

Materials used:

Spectrum oil paint, knives, sticks, paste medium.