Profile: Derek Abel

Derek Abel - artist

Raise the latch on the five-bar gate, walk across the gravel drive and knock on the door of the old boat house, the studio of watercolourist Derek Abel. ‘Come in!’ he would shout and you would put your finger on the conveniently placed hole which in turn raised the internal wooden bar and released the door – and there you were, surrounded by wooden settles, pots of paint brushes, interesting archaeological finds and plenty of dried flower heads and, if you were lucky you would be treated to the company of the resident robin who would pop in to share the Bombay Mix that Derek would often have for lunch. Derek sat at an old desk just inside the door looking out of the window onto the ancient apple and pear trees in the garden and in turn over to the tower of the Priory Church. Watching the changing seasons was inspiration for this gentle artist whose watercolours in pastel hues, the honey stone of the Deepings, the terracotta of his beloved Venice and the worn red brick of Cambridge were the colours of his life.

We would sit and plan events, the garden trail of the Deepings, the celebration of courtship and marriage, the festival of parish maps – the programmes and posters were all illustrated by Derek’s quirky line drawings that teased out the small details that were actually the big details! He was spotted too by the publisher of the magazine Best of British and his unique illustrations worked their way across the pages of this popular monthly. We chatted about fellow Parish Councillors and the quirks and characteristics that predated Dibley! Here Derek hatched his largest scheme, to have the lamp taken from the top of the Cross, cobbles and bollards laid and uplighters installed with signage to explain the history of the monument, just across the road from the Studio. It had been Derek’s mission to have the dignity of the Cross restored after the Parish Council had had

it made into a street light in 1894 as one of the first acts of the newly founded Council. The ribbon cutting was planned in this very studio and it was here that Radio 4 newsreader, John Timpson, who had written about this very unusual lamppost in his book Timpson’s England, was entertained when he came to cut the ribbon after the works were completed.

It was in this studio too that Deepings Heritage was founded; the preservation of vernacular architecture was a passion of Derek’s. It was the motivation behind much of his work to preserve with paint on paper the buildings of the past that he loved. This extended to a love of archaeology as well and he spent many holidays with wife Pat and his son Chris field walking in Thetford Forest in Norfolk. He was born in 1924 in Bury St Edmunds, an only child who whiled away many hours exploring the Suffolk countryside, turning to sketching at a very early age during the recurrence of health problems he suffered throughout his life, having fallen on his back

while being carried as a child. The first drawing that came to the attention of his parents and a teacher at Culford School was a pencil sketch of a dog’s head in 1939. He was advised to take a postal art course and he started to make architectural studies of his home town, a subject which remained his greatest love.

A big step forward came with a spell of topical cartooning for the Bury Free Press. The town at that time was still occupied by the American forces, so he had plenty of scope! Regaining the use of his legs he studied for some time at the Norwich School of Art. It was at this time that he discovered the Norfolk Broads and developed a love of sailing.

For a time Derek worked for the Civil Service but found it too restrictive for his creative personality and he instead entered the world of the publishing, working in advertising in Kettering and Wisbech. His work took him to Spalding in 1953 and it was while he was working at the Free Press that he met Pat, who was to become his wife after a whirlwind courtship lasting just a week! They married in 1954 and enjoyed many holidays together – there was a racing dinghy on Barton Broad, a trip to Venice in an Isetta Bubble Car, and a hair-raising trip to Austria on a Vespa scooter.

The couple came to Deeping St James in 1962 where Derek’s second career in painting took off! He gave art classes for adults at the Gleed School in Spalding and was soon busy locally. Many homes in the Deepings boasted at least one of his watercolours, many still do! The days that led up to Christmas would see him bent over his desk burning the midnight oil with Pat coming in from the kitchen with cups of Earl Grey to sustain him. There were many delighted locals who unwrapped a Derek Abel original on Christmas morning. A great opportunity arose after he had painted a cover for Cambridge Pride magazine; he was spotted by a gallery in King’s Parade in Cambridge and was commissioned by many notables including the Royal Family.

A series of hand-coloured prints of the colleges and bridges in Cambridge was followed by a series of cartoons. He worked for galleries in Ely and in Norwich and in 1998 he contributed over 40 illustrations for the book, Wisbech – forty perspectives of a Fenland town.

For Derek the perfect day would be to drive into the countryside, Pat by his side, and sit for hours at an easel, capturing the essence of a place on paper while Pat, a talented embroideress herself, would sit and stitch – and there was always something tasty for lunch!