Original artwork description:

Before I became an artist I was an archaeologist and I still have a deep and abiding love for the monuments and structures of Neolithic Europe, especially those found in the UK, so I've embarked on a series of monoprints depicting these enigmatic landscape features.

The Nine Maidens, also known as the Seventeen Brothers, is a Bronze Age stone circle located near the village of Belstone on Dartmoor in Devon, England. The stone circle functioned as a burial chamber, although the cairn has since been robbed and the cist destroyed. Legend has it that the circle is or was a group of maidens who danced on a Sunday and were immediately turned to stone. Not far from the circle is a small broken stone which is supposed to have been the piper who played for the maidens. For their punishment they were compelled to dance every day at noon for the rest of eternity and it is said that to this day they can be seen rhythmically moving at midday. It is also suggested that the sound of the Belstone church bells will also bring them to life. Another version is that the assembled crowd were in fact seventeen brothers who were turned to stone for dancing which seeing as this is the number of stones visible today would appear the more favourable of the options. Legend also has it that when counting the stones the same total can never be reached probably because the dancers won’t stand still long enough.

This artwork has been created using a monoprint process created by German artist Paul Klee where oil paint (black, in this case) is painted onto one side of a piece of paper which is then carefully placed, paint-side down, onto a piece of watercolour paper and the image required is drawn onto the unpainted side, thereby transferring black lines onto the watercolour paper. The first sheet is removed and the image can then be painted over using watercolours, with the black oil-painted lines acting as a resist. Due to the nature of the process, small black marks and smudges are frequently accidentally transferred but this, together with the watercolour painting, only highlights the individual nature of each ‘print’. While it is quite possible to produce the image again, each one will be different as no two paintings will ever be identical.

This image is transferred/outlined with Winsor & Newton oil paint and then painted with Winsor & Newton Professional watercolours onto 300gsm/140lb Hot Pressed Daler-Rowney Aquafine Smooth watercolour paper.

DELIVERY INFORMATION
In order to avoid trips to the Post Office, I shall be arranging for delivery to be via courier (not Hermes!) and shipping charges will reflect this. As prices will vary depending on the purchaser's location, if the actual shipping price is less than that charged, I will refund the difference. I am happy to arrange collection.

IMPORTANT - Rather sadly I've decided that, following Brexit, I can no longer sell my artwork to purchasers in the EU. The customs/VAT regulations are an absolute nightmare and I don't want to risk purchasers having to fork out a lot of unforeseen extra money when taking delivery, and even if I agree to pay Customs and VAT upfront before sending out, the red tape involved just looks horrendous.

I will still be selling to customers outside the EU as there's been no changes there so everything remains the same. My apologies, all I can say is that I voted to remain.

For international buyers please note that import duties, taxes and charges are not included in the price of this artwork or shipping costs. These charges are the buyer's responsibility.

Materials used:

oil paint, watercolours

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