Description
‘Bideford Bridge’
Hand pressed linocut print
Limited edition of 25 prints
A3, heavy white 300gsm Snowdon paper
Bideford Bridge – The (mystrerious) History
This carving is of my favourite local landmark, Bideford (old) bridge.
I have always loved the bridge and as a child heard the story of why the arches are all of different sizes. The story I heard is that when the bridge was built in stone over it’s previous wooden version in the 14th century, the building of the bridge was paid for in contributions from local businesses. The more money an individual business put into the pot, the bigger their arch. I have recently discovered that this is just one of many rumoured reasons for the arches’ size difference, including that it was built piecemeal by The Bridge Trust, and also that it was built on whatever existing rock that the builders could use as a strong base. I like the truly Devonian feel of the first story, so that’s the one I’m sticking with!
I’ve wanted to create a piece featuring the bridge for a few years now, but my landscape painting skills have remained woefully under par for the task! I’m delighted to be able to be able to make something so personal and produce a result that I am really happy with, using my favourite medium – printing.
As a child (and now as an adult) I associated the view of the old bridge with the feeling of homecoming – whether it be from a week long holiday away or just a trip up the road to Saunton Sands – once we spotted the old bridge, we were already home.
Initially I wanted to use the view looking from the other direction, as if from the new bridge, but after being sent a truly fantastic reference photo from my photographer friend, Dave Green, I knew I’d found the perfect image to capture the feeling. The fact that the new bridge is in the picture works just as well for me.
Please note that these are not digital prints. Each print is hand inked and pressed so there can sometimes be a very slight variation in ink and colour density between each one, giving each piece its own unique beauty.
Printing is slow magic – the lead time on prints is 2-3 weeks as each print takes about 2 weeks for the ink to dry.
