This process involved traveling light, and working with limited materials, the canvas was folded and refolded with cropped sections being sketched and painted on, I used the canvas instead of a sketch book, there is something special in the sketches and in the margins and edges, I want to retain that energy in the finished painting.

This canvas was primed in Whanganui, the images, sketches, notes, acrylic and watercolors were all added in St Ives, I stretched it out in rural Czech Rep (my wife’s home) and added layers of shellac, oil and glazes, I brought it back again to Whanganui for the final stretch, touch ups and varnish.

St Ives is a place I spent much of my childhood and like all the places this canvas traveled through, it’s a little bit, but not completely, like home.

Much of the imagery is of the landscape in and around St Ives, there is also a recurring image of a sculpture by a Cornish based artist, Paul Mount, this particular sculpture was given to my Grandfather, they were involved in the same pacifism, and Ambulance service in WW2, When my Grandfather passed the sculpture went to my Father, who I visited while working on this piece. I sketched the sculpture 5 times, as it was the 3rd of an edition of 5, hence the title.

This painting is an emotional, expressive, yet slow and meandering response to some of my own experiences and memories.

On May 23rd I saw a man walking along the beach in St Ives followed by six veiled women, not seven sadly, that sketch is in the center of the canvas.