Original artwork description:

There can't be a single person alive, fish eater or not, who doesn't know that Rick Stein is so heavily involved in the life of Padstow that it has been dubbed Rickmansworth. I visited Padstow with my wife a few years ago and around every corner there seems to be a Rick Deli or a Rick Bakery or a Rick Resthouse or Rick & Reel Fish Shop. Padstowthians might be miffed about all the visitors in the height of the season but the place is booming, in no small measure due to Rick. Incidentally this is what's known as Rickle Down economics.

Unfortunately my wife and I could barely afford to peer through the windows of Rick's flagship restaurant near the harbour and so we decided to partake of a more modest portion of fish and chips from Rick's takeaway shop a short walk away. This involved a bit of a queue, and then eating the fare in with our legs dangling over the harbour wall. We were not alone in this endeavour: we had barely sat down to savour some of Rick's best batter before the Padstow seagull mafia started congregating, as if auditioning for the sequel to 'The Birds'. Fending off this flock of flying piranhas was a trifle unnerving and rather deflected our concentration from the quality of the fare, which of course was mighty fine. Eventually we were forced to retreat to the top of the town where I took the photo on which this painting is based.
I admire the art deco poster scene of the 20s and 30s and in this picture have tried to fuse it with the cheeky travel posters of the 'Skegness-is-so-bracing!' variety. These posters can rely on an alliterative strapline, usually beginning with 's'. London: Shops! Shows! Sights! For Rick's poster the choices were stark. Stein! Steams! Salmon! seemed commercially vulgar, and Stein! Seafood! Synonymous! crassly unsubtle. I finally settled on this safer option, which wouldn’t win the Nobel Prize for literature, I realise this, but, as with food, simplicity is often desirable. Most paintings of Padstow embrace the harbour but, for me, the colourfully misshapen houses, the estuary and the headland epitomize the town better. It's a s s s stunning location!


Limited Edition Prints.
Printed on William Turner Hahnemuhle fine art exhibition quality paper (310 g/m2) using Epson Ultrachrome Pro Pigments, the colours remain true to the original up to 100 years.
The image size is 43×30 cms and there is an additional 3 cms border all the way round the image (ie total size: 49×36 cms). The artist will sign and number the print in this border.
Prints will leave the artists studio within 7 days, rolled in a heavy tube, accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity and sent via track and trace.

Materials used:

Acrylics

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