Railway Poster Pastiche

Visit Kingsclere - a pastiche of the classic railway posters

(colour corrected photograph)

There has never been a railway to Kingsclere, so the record-breaking locomotive "Mallard" could never have steamed towards the village. As far as I know, there was never a company called Wessex Railways, but if there had been, I suspect that the would have used the tag line Taking you "Far From the Madding Crowd". As to the location - we are close enough to Hardy's Wessex that I feel justified in bringing a Wessex train here.

This is an image laden with significance to the locality.

Regular readers of my blog or people who know the area may recognise The Famous Hill (Watership Down). The hill existed when the classic railway posters were made, but Richard Adams' book did not. So, in a way, the choice of location, and the rabbit in the foreground, are anachronistic choices.

The racehorses exercising below the hill represent the racing industry, which was as important then as it is now, if not moreso.

And the curious shape in the sky? That's the bedbug, the windvane on St. Mary's church in Kingsclere.

Here are a few "in progress" images:

Visit Kingsclere - a pastiche of the classic railway posters
Acrylic on canvas, 40 x 50 cm
30 January 2014