Spyglass

Alistair Little | Oil on Melamine | 10 x 14 inches

“The two common threads running through the paintings I’ve made for the ‘Best of British’ show are firstly, the weather and secondly, that they are set in Norfolk.

Norfolk has so many interesting buildings, not least the Happisburgh Lighthouse which features in this work.   I didn’t want to depict the entire lighthouse, however, rather just hint at it.   I liked the idea that people would recognise it if they were familiar with the area, a little inside joke.

This composition is a reworking of a painting I made 17 years ago, in which the red and white was paintwork on a boat.

If I’m truthful I was never that happy with original work, but I was in love with idea of a figure using a telescope set against a bright white and red background.  

So here we have my guy wearing a brimmed hat and a Harrington style jacket, which might pin this scene to the 1950’s.  He’s using an old-fashioned telescope, an object out of time (even then) which, for me, links to the timeless quality of the Lighthouse. It could be that he is out of his time too, which is a feeling that I’ve occasionally experienced in my own life.

 The dark brooding sky signals a storm which has just passed, and the telescope hints at some far-off hope. I’m a hopeless romantic so I imagine him looking for something that could put an end to his solitude.  The bright light also suggests a brighter time ahead, so let’s keep our fingers crossed for him.” Alastair

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