ART, COINS AND MAGIC

From medical to mystical

From Orpington to Bath and from scientific illustration to surreal homages to the English countryside, artist David Lawrence has made big strides in his artistic and personal journeys – Emma Clegg listens to his story

Ialways say that I have been untroubled by success,” David Lawrence tells me. I express scepticism, because this comes from an artist/illustrator who has been making a living through his artwork for almost 40 years. What he means, I establish, is that he is not represented by a Gallery as an Artist. Until now this has been at his own direction because his pathway required a focus on commercial commissions to earn a living. The result is a highly versatile artist, equally able to create pastiches of Old Masters, editorial cartoons, and adverts for airlines, as fulfil regular commissions from The Royal Mint, and –most enduringly and memorably in more recent years –offer his own style of surrealist painting, which is dramatically informed by a romantic sense of the English landscape.

David went to art college in the 1970s, doing a degree in scientific illustration (drawing images of scientific subjects to inform and communicate) at Middlesex Polytechnic. “I just wanted to learn some skills,”says David. “But when I finished art college I suddenly realised that if I did this all my life I’d never actually get to draw any goblins or fairies –all I’d be drawing was ducks and fleas, which involve lots of patience but not a lot of imagination.” While the shift from medical to mystical artwork was not immediate, it was obvious that the gnomes were in his blood and they would come out!

On graduating David went into commercial art and his work since then has had to adapt constantly to the times. “I’m very much a chameleon,” David explains. “In the days before Photoshop in the ’80s and ’90s, if you wanted to have a painting that looked oldfashioned – a pastiche painting in the style of Rembrandt, say –you had to get someone to paint it in that style. Or if you wanted something to look like a woodcut, you had to create one. So I developed a portfolio of old-style oil paintings and scraper-board drawings and I did editorial cartoons and adverts for beer and bread, and airlines and brochures for hemorrhoid cream.”

With the advent of fax machines in the late 1980s, David was able to move out of London to Taunton, but then in the mid-1990s came the widespread use of computers, which in David’s words, “rubbed out illustration for 10 years.” So he became a sculptor, creating a range of ‘Green Man’ sculptural face plaques –based on the mythological character and representing our deep connections with nature –which are still selling after 25 years. “The green men kept me alive and then I got in with a company called Harmony Kingdom who made little giftware items, which kept me going until about 15 years ago.”

David found his way back to illustration and then he met his second wife, Karen: a reunion which he describes as “one of the great romantic stories”, because they had first known each other when they were three, and then as youngsters “in Orpington, a dull suburb of London”, and had lost touch for 35 years. His marriage coincided with a move to Bath, and allowed David a significant new focus on his personal artwork, a dramatic transition: “When I started doing my own work, initially it was wilfully weird because all my life I’d been told what to do by an art director ...and now I was free at last!” he says.

So what inspires David and how does he direct his practice? Artist Samuel Palmer (1805–1881) has been a big influence, he explains; Palmer lived in Shoreham, not far from where David grew up, and his drawings and paintings of Kent –in turn influenced by William Blake –were a visionary depiction of rural England. “I love the way Palmer played with shape, and his romantic, dream-like view of the world.” You can certainly trace the mystical, symbolic and imaginative, as well as the bountiful power of the English countryside, in David’s own work.

“People always ask me where my ideas come from. I think it’s the subconscious, really, that plays a large part, because most of my ideas come to mind fully formed. In my head I file copious images drawn from stained-glass windows, medieval illuminations, folklore, 1970s TV and Prog Rock”, says David.

David’s media is mixed, nowadays combining acrylics, oils and oil pastels, which give a grainy texture. “Every painting has a different evolution –they can look quite different, but there is a coherence: an art nouveau love of rich colours, a strong sinuous line and wellobserved anatomical elements. This goes back to my art school training, where we spent much time drawing body parts and going to hospital museums.”

Nowadays David’s forays into commercial projects are rarer. He has, however, continued an association with the Royal Mint for the past 10 years. With each project, a brief is received by three artists, who submit a minimum of two designs to a panel of experts, who choose a winner. David produced a series of commemorative World War One coins from 2014–18, the new £1 coin in 2016 (developed from the winning drawing by 14-year-old David Pearce following a national competition), the Britannia Sovereign in 2018 and 2019 and this year’s commemorative Year of the Tiger Coin.

David regularly exhibits with the monthly Bath Contemporary Artists’ Fair in Green Park, which starts again on Sunday 10 April. Come and see if you can spot any goblins... n

Bath Contemporary Artists’ Fair, Green Park 10 April, 10am–5pm; bcaf.co.uk; davidlawrenceart.com

RIGHT: The Year of the Tiger commemorative coin 2022, produced for the Royal Mint Images © The Royal Mint LEFT: The £1 coin, the design of which David interpreted from the winning competition drawing

Inflation & Silver

DUNCAN CAMPBELL

Antique silver specialist

Tipping the scales awkwardly

Anyone might be forgiven for assuming that, as the price of an ounce of silver rises, as often happens in times of economic upset, silver dealers are rubbing their hands with glee.

There are undoubtedly things made of silver so ugly and/or useless that melting them down is a distinct benefit to posterity. A rising silver price certainly makes recycling the uglies even more attractive.

On the other side of the trade, among useful things, forks, spoons, dishes etc., there is naturally a limit to how much customers are prepared to spend.

When I began dealing, the Hunt Brothers’ rigging of the market in the early 1980’s was over and the price of silver so low, ( about £2.50 per oz. troy) that nothing was ever valued by its weight. These low values remained for over 20 years.

At that time, a good quality Georgian table fork cost about £4050. Fast forward to today and the same fork is worth slightly more than that as bullion. As a buyer of fine antique silver, I find myself in competition with scrap metal merchants. Since I can’t bring myself to melt down useful Georgian silver, above a certain price per oz., it tends to remain unsold.

I take no pleasure in weighing up antique silver and I have encountered some pretty disapproving raised eyebrows when doing so in front of the owner of said silver. What I have to explain, though I’m not always believed, is that for certain classes of silver, the ‘scrap value’ is more than most folks want to pay.

The other, and even more maddening, feature of a bull silver market is that the antiques trade - those who aren’t silver dealers won’t sell me anything weighing more than a few ounces on the assumption that prices will go on rising and as we all know, they never do. n beaunashbath.com; 01225 334234

FOOD&DRINK NEWS

AWARD-WINNING BROWNIES

Chatley Farm Brownies based near Norton St Philip have won four Gold Taste of The West Awards 2021. The award winning flavours are Rich Chocolate Brownies, Salted Caramel Brownies, Chocolate Orange Brownies and Amaretto Chocolate Brownies. Handmade at Chatley Farm by creator and professional chef Jo Pobjoy and her team, the win is the first for the brand, which has been established since 2002.

Chatley Farm are currently offering special Easter Chocolate Brownie Hampers to tempt brownie lovers. Choose from the Mini Hamper for £20 (two packets with eight brownies) or the Lux Hamper for £35 (four packets with 16 brownies). There’s a special 20% off offer for Easter hampers to Bath Magazine readers –see details opposite. Simply pick your flavourites and Chatley Farm will present them in a Pink (mini) or Yellow (lux) Easter box, with tissue and your own personal note. All brownies are made using the best Belgian chocolate and locally sourced ingredients to create delicious squares of heaven. chatleyfarmbrownies.co.uk

The Ivy Bath Brasserie has launched a delectable new menu embracing the flavours of spring. With a sense of freshness and renewal, guests will be taken on a journey of rediscovery with a selection of delights featuring ingredients of the new season. The new menu will feature a number of artisanal British suppliers, with new dishes including Garden Pea & Nettle Soup (£6.95), Grilled Asparagus with Szechuan mayonnaise, capers, flaked almonds, quail’s egg and watercress (£8.50), and a renewed selection of steaks, all truly capturing the essence of the changing seasons. Those with a sweet tooth will be able to enjoy a new Black Bee Honey and White Chocolate Cheesecake (£9.25), shown right, featuring UK-based Black Bee Honey and accompanied by mango sorbet, honeycomb and edible flowers. The Ivy Bath Brasserie will also be offering a limited-edition dessert this Easter. The Easter Nest (£9.95) is a sumptuous dark and white chocolate mousse, accompanied by Kataifi pastry, chocolate sponge and lemon balm, available on Easter weekend only from 15–18 April. theivybathbrasserie.com

NEW SPRING MENU AT IVY BATH

ALCOHOL-FREE APERITIFS

ANON spirits, launched in 2021 by south west-based Alfresco Drinks, combines natural botanicals and flavourings to create delicious non-alcoholic libations. Bittersweet Aperitif is the first in a new range of alcoholfree spirits, a take on the Italian liqueur Aperol, which is great for summer spritzing, mixing and negroni-making. A refreshing, aromatic blend of orange, vermouth, wormwood, gentian and quassia extracts, its palate profile is complex and developed with hints of orange, citrus and herbs. Best served as part of a mocktail if wanting to go all out non-alcoholic, with lemonade, tonic or soda water, the Bittersweet can also be mixed with alcoholic accompaniments if you are simply wanting to reduce alcohol consumption rather than remove it altogether.

Anon Spirits, the winner of the Caterer Supplier Awards 2021, offers its nonalcoholic spirits for £20 for a 70cl bottle, and £12 for a 20cl bottle. anondrinks.com