Everything Passes, Everything Changes

About this artwork

'Renewal' always has a positive connotation but is this always the case? This painting on my memories of the Northumbrian coast in the UK over more than 60 years. Parts of this coast were heavily industrialised in the past, other areas depended on fishing. There were also isolated areas of outstanding beauty. Post industrialisation and after discovery by the media and holiday companies a process of 'renewal' took place, Small villages now boast coffee shops and delis, fishing ports have tourist centres and gastro pubs, industrial ports have morphed into historical centres and marinas. Everywhere has 'improved' but some of the local colour and character has been lost and its almost as common to hear middle class accents as the local Northumbria dialect. This painting suggests the ghosts of dockyard cranes, the colours are of rust and decay but also reflect the beauty of the seascapes, the passing of a way of life and the emergence of another as one of the countries most popular holiday spots but have the local communities paid too high a price?