Trash Day on Calle 2a

Oil on linen

24” X 36” (61cm X 91cm)

SOLD

for me, this painting sums up Casco more than any other. This scene required no additional composition, no adjustment or embellishment, it was just perfect exactly as it was. The juxtaposition of this beautiful window, wonderful with decay, against the putrid trash bins below, says everything about our willful disrespect of the public realm; our refusal to take responsibility for the results of our consumerism; as well as our complete blindness to this blight. We live amongst these treasures, these wonderful gifts from the past and, in most cases, our own contribution is to bespoil them. However, for the artist such scenes are meat and drink. This composition is bursting with life, energy and colour as well as being rich with contrast and contradiction.

Green Balcony on Avenida Central

Oil on linen

24” X 30” (61cm X 76cm)

SOLD

Like many in Casco, this balcony is so theatrical, it would be as at home on a stage or the back of a pirate galleon as it is here. It is a stunning example of a grand entrance waiting to happen. Everything is poised and perfectly staged: the woodwork is decayed but intact; the beautiful ironwork of the balcony has just enough damage to be authentic but retain the elegance of its bellbottom figure and the paintwork has that perfect scenic balance of bleaching and peeling. The louvered double-doors have slipped their lower hinges which has left them at an angle that screams “TA-DA!”. And even the morning sun is playing its part by providing the theatrical spotlight. All that is required are the players, the dusky damsel or bare-chested buccaneer, to emerge from the shadows.

The Old Lottery Building on Avenida Central

Oil on linen

24” X 48” (61cm X 122cm)

SOLD

Casco’s broken brick paved streets were replaced some years ago, but unfortunately its network of sidewalks and pavements remain an antique patchwork of craters and open manholes dappled in dog mess and other befoulment of indeterminate origins. The result is that when walking in Casco you quickly learn to keep your eyes firmly on the six feet in front of you. However, for this pedestrian caution we pay a heavy price as Casco’s finest treasures lay well above the eyeline.

The old lottery building on Avenida Central is just such a gem. Above the streets this wonderful monument to art deco optimism sits abandoned and quietly rotting. I am sure that the designers of this futuristic edifice, with its bold forms in concrete and glass, could not have imagined that this would be the future that befell it. Decades of neglect have softened and broken its once clean lines, a hotchpotch of condensers and TV antennas lay strewn across its canopy and even the concrete and glass that make up the fabric of this once proud building have themselves now began to crumble.

Old Signs & Candy Stripes

Oil on linen

2 X 24” X 30”, total size 24” X 60” (61cm X 152cm)

SOLD

This corner building encapsulates one of the things I love most about Casco. One generation writes its narrative over another but does not erase the old. We end up with these wonderful laminated stories, each transparent layer adding new elements to the scene.

But there is more at work here than a succession of human interventions, nature also has her part to play. The morning light breaking through a nearby tree leaves its unmistakable imprint on the facade. The branches scrawl their signature across the walls whilst the foliage pools and defuses the light subsuming everything that falls under its ragged cloak.

Blue Balconette on Calle 6a

Oil on linen

30” X 24” (76cm X 61cm)

SOLD

When out looking for subjects to paint and draw I have often found myself constrained by my limited pedestrian vantage point. This is all the more frustrating as it has often been my experience that much of the most interesting subject matter exists well above the eye level. I have, in the past, employed many tactics to overcome my human limitations from carrying stepladders to fixing mirrors and cameras to poles. But it was not until recently, when I discovered lightweight drones, that this world was truly revealed to me.

Here, up on high, I can now bear witness to this world previously beyond my sight. These places often remain completely untouched for decades save the occasional scrabbling of birds and vermin. Up here the rotting debris is left to be sculpted by the wind’s swirling eddies as it is gradually washed into silt by the rain. In the case of this balcony, the thick layer of silt has been made orange by rotted hardwood and then splashed up against the wall by the heavy rain, staining the once white plaster. The effect provides a sandy sunset backdrop to the delicate blue ironwork.Whilst in the foreground the balcony’s edge has been crumbled and delaminated into a luna landscape by the elements.

Laboratorio Lico

Oil on linen

24” X 30” (61cm X 76cm)

SOLD

There is so much going on in this window it is difficult to know where to start. It is a collage of stories from different times. From the rich victoriana to the modern murals; the art deco balustrade to the 1970’s lettering that is still surprisingly well adhered to the grime coated glass.

But it was the fanlight that sits atop this montage of tales that caught my eye. The early morning light that strikes this building is mostly obscured at street level by trees, so the facade is rendered in murky shadow. This is apart from a dappled patch of sun that falls across the top of the window. These small puddles of light alleviate the shade just enough to reveal the writhing ironwork in all its ophidian glory.

Window at Dawn on Avenida Central

Oil on linen

2 X 24” X 30”, total size 24” X 60” (61cm X 152cm)

SOLD

This wonderful fanlight window was once the centrepiece of an elegant clothing store’s grand entrance. This unusual semi-elliptical arch spans almost the entirety of the width of the shop’s facade and is framed by two enormous ornately decorated corbels. Preparations are already well underway for the complete refurbishment of this building, as it is to be incorporated into the new hotel that will engulf almost the entire city block. For me, such restorations are very much mixed blessings: on the one hand, redevelopment preserves buildings that would otherwise be lost to ruin. On the other hand, restoration obliterates the delicate patina that accrues over decades or even centuries and replaces it with an antiseptic veneer, completely devoid of narrative or context.

In the case of this building, it is the colours that most intrigue. The two-tone salmon of the walls and balcony would have been garish in its original condition, however, decades of sun-bleaching have muted their tones into something quite natural. The requisite dusting of general city filth further serves to soften the palette as well as providing contrast and highlight to the embellishments. The bleached pink and terracotta masonry provide a perfect proscenium to reveal the star of the show: the wonderful patchwork of turquoise glass underscored by forest green stone.

Fondant Window on Avenida Central

Oil on linen

20” X 40” (51cm X 102cm)

SOLD

I have had to be patient whilst waiting to paint this window as it has been shrouded in scaffolding and safety netting for some considerable time. But now all of the structural steelwork and construction site protection has been removed to reveal this absolute wedding cake of a building, a decadent celebration of the opulence and optimism of its time. I love how over-the-top this building is, with its oversize baroque decoration made soft by erosion, the pale pink and salmon paintwork all covered with a faint dusting of powdered concrete to further enhance its confectionesque appearance. But once again it is the contradiction of decor and debris that catches my eye and holds my attention: the holes smashed through the delicately recessed balcony floor; the symmetry of the broken window panes; and the elegant arched window framing the makeshift clothes rail. As Casco changes I think it is these Juxtapositions that I will miss most.

Cable Window on Calle 14 Oeste

Oil on linen

24” X 36” (61cm X 91cm)

SOLD

This is a wonderful example of a Juliet balcony and typical of many here in Casco. Fine decorative ironwork coupled with elegant proportions all softened and patinated with age. But it was the colours that first drew my eye. The two tone lime green and terracotta paintwork was I’m sure lurid in its original condition, but the years and the elements have been kind to our eyes and tempered their hues into the pleasing swirling mass of natural tones we see today.

Nevertheless, the real story here is the mass of cables that lay across the front of this building. It was not so long ago that almost all the streets in Casco looked like this one, a spider’s web of power cables and TV aerials all mixed together with makeshift washing lines and security wire. Over the years the web becomes more intricate as, in true Casco style, the redundant cables are never removed – replacements are merely draped around the old wires. This creates a potentially lethal Chinese puzzle, virtually unravelable as you never know what is live and what is not. So more cables are added and so on. However, from an artistic point of view the swoops and swags delineate the composition and offord a wonderful visual tension to the image.

Blue Arches & Rusty Boxes

Oil on linen

48” X 24” (122cm X 61cm)

SOLD

This painting is all about the abstract composition of this scene. I love the geometry, as well as the disrupted symmetry. The strong shape of the shadow created by the glass dropping out of its frame; the vertical door panels mirrored by the building numbers; the bold swagged stripes of the cables above the door, its all repeated yet slightly changed. But it is the collection of rusty electrical boxes that really call to me. They share the same geometric structure of rectangles and circles as the rest of the objects in the scene, but then add a bold splash of complimentary colour and texture.

Fanlight Window on Calle 2a

Oil on linen

2 X 30” X 30” , total size 60” X 30” (152cm X 76cm)

SOLD

The quality of the decorative metalwork is one of the first things I noticed when I first came to Casco. These hand forged masterpieces, built up from layers of wrought iron and held together by collars and pins, are of exceptional quality and consistency. But it is the way they have corroded that makes them interesting to me. Each piece has been made unique by the elements and circumstance. Their lines have been camouflaged by rust, their symmetry disrupted, puckered and blistered they have become artifacts. Like relics from a shipwreck they have been rendered fascinating and mysterious.

Rusty Door on Avenida A

Oil on linen

24” X 36” (61cm X 91cm)

SOLD

The subject of this painting is, in itself, unremarkable. This simple steel door is completely covered in surface rust. There are remnant traces of yellow paint, but it is now impossible to tell whether the door was at one time painted yellow and the paint has since rusted off, or the door was in fact painted a different colour altogether and has just had yellow paint splattered on it.

However, this door is special. At around 7:30am the light completely transforms this ordinary piece of ironwork into an object of great beauty. The morning sun gifts the surface rust a deep chestnut luster and the slightly defused warm umber shadows create an amazing filigree effect. Even the spattered yellow paint is afforded a rich golden glow. It still amazes me how the light here has this power of transformation, it is constantly reinventing this place and finds momentary beauty in the mundane.

Doorway With Tarpaulin on Avenida A

Oil on linen

22” X 30” (56cm X 76cm)

SOLD

This doorway is an unexpected beauty. The ravages of time and neglect have masked its origin as the fine entrance to a grand home, but its elegant past has not yet been entirely lost. Such is the power of these old buildings to defiantly shine through their torment. This entrance, although beset with rot and wrapped in a blue plastic sheet, remains resplendent in the glow of the morning sun. Its elegant proportions are still evident and the delicate scrollwork of the transom shines out from the gloom. The bellowing tarpaulin has been transformed into swagged drapery by the sun and the breeze and even the paint scrawled steelwork can offer its symmetry to the composition.

Green Balconette on Calle 6a

Oil on linen

24” X 30” (61cm X76cm)

SOLD

I believe that every object has its perfect moment in time, its own perfect hair day: the moment when the rich layers of patina perfectly enrich its form; when the light strikes at exactly the right angle to gently reveal its curves and when the elements conspire to contort its lines just enough to make it truly unique. I believe that it is being in this moment that makes these objects catch our eye, it makes them beg to be gazed upon in their brief time of flowering beauty.

This window is a patchwork of decay and damage: the wood panels are slowly rotting away, the rain is gently staining and eroding the stone and the metalwork is fighting a rapidly losing battle with corrosion. All this is superimposed with spatters of blue paint, hastily patched holes and a sill strewn with debris. It is this physical onslaught, drenched in defused morning light, that has created this beautiful tableau.

Fire Hydrant Wrapped in Chain on Calle Victoriano Lorenzo

Oil on linen

24” X 36” (61cm X 91cm)

SOLD

This hydrant is on the wall of Casa Casco, a building at the end of the street where I have lived for the past five years or so. Casa Casco was formerly a run down hostel but was restored at about the same time I moved to this street and now houses several smart restaurants, a small nightclub and a rooftop bar. The hydrant itself has been installed at a slight angle, giving it a quizzical appearance; the two brass nozzle caps have either been stolen or, just as likely, were never installed, either way, it has allowed a bloom of verdigris to develop on the water outlet nozzles creating these green insect-like eyes. This hydrant has also been employed as an anchorage point to secure the plastic bins that sit outside the restaurant. When not in use, the chain is coiled around the hydrant and secured with a padlock.

Chain fascinates me, it is used symbolically throughout art and design, but it is its physical attributes that interest me. Chain can behave in one of three ways depending on how it is utilised: when laid down, the individual links behave as objects in their own right and lay where they fall; when held as a string they behave as one and adopt a catenary curve; however, when chain is coiled it becomes like a heavy semi-fluid. I loved this composition from the first time I saw it, partly because it encompasses all three behaviours of chain, but mainly because the addition of the chain completely changes the overall shape of the object and creates this strange insect head, so much so that I think of this painting as a portrait.

Chained Doors on Avenida Central

Oil on linen

24” X 30” (61cm X 76cm)

SOLD

This pair of doors are, in my view, the finest in all of Casco. Absolutely stunningly designed and exquisitely crafted. However, these doors possess a beauty beyond their design. Unrestored and unkempt they shine, their stories, recorded in their scars, elevate them far beyond anything that their architects and craftspeople could have imagined for them.

These doors are truly exquisite. I adore their almost medieval quality: the beautiful hand forged ironwork fastened with steel pins; the simple pattern of roundels that decorate the panels; the abstract symmetry and the pastel colours. But most of all I love their heraldic quality, the palette of gold on a field of turquoise and black, the mix of strong abstract shapes and organic embellishments. I can not see them as anything other than a coat of arms, an informal crest for Casco.

Blue Balconette on Avenida A

Oil on linen

24” X 30” (61cm X 76cm)

SOLD

Over the past ten years or more, I have watched this building slowly decay. The doors, however, have held up remarkably well, many of them remaining virtually unchanged. This ability to endure offers testament to their quality, anything surviving a decade exposed to the elements in this brutally corrosive environment is impressive indeed.

This resistance to the rotting and corrosion, that is so pervasive here, has allowed a more subtle form of ageing to take place. Whilst the building’s masonry has fallen away in great swathes, the woodwork has remained sufficiently intact for the paintwork to become bleached by the sun and crazed; the iron scrollwork has given in to its tensions and popped the collars that constrained its coils allowing them a new freedom to find their own form and affording the doors the appearance of a Parisian pen and ink sketch.

Green Door on Calle 11a

Oil on linen

24” X 30” (61cm X 76cm)

SOLD

This door is typical of many anonymous doors that exist all over the historic district. Built more for security than elegance, it is complete with the very special Casco feature of the door handle and lock being mounted so close to the door frame that they are almost impossible to use. Even when you do manage to contort your fingers sufficiently to get the key in the lock or grasp the handle you are rewarded for your efforts with the skin being removed from your knuckles as the door opens.

However, when the afternoon sun strikes, everything ordinary about this door disappears. It becomes luminescent, the array of graffiti lights up and becomes one swirling mass and the simple ironwork heart, bisected by a steel cross, glows gold.