In this video I am going to talk about Rockaway Park in Temple Cloud, Somerset. Rockaway Park is a community of artists with extraordinary diverse and independent talent. You only have to look around to see extraordinary diverse and independent that talent really is.
A Bedford Bus
You can buy a limited edition print of this Bedford bus here.
I was so excited about this place I thought I’d paint two pictures. The first painting is of a lovely old Bedford bus, and who doesn’t love an old Bedford bus? I really liked the way that it poked out of the garage door. I found it irresistible.
I was really pleased that ladybird book feel I was searching for. The gods of art blessed me again with that lovely, shadow of the windmill.
The Elephant Rocket
You can buy a limited edition print of a rocket and elephant here
The next painting is a rocket surmounted with an elephant. When I first started this job, I never thought I’d ever paint a rocket, let alone one with an elephant on top. These are the kind of opportunities that Rockaway Park can give you, it expands your idea on what a subject of a painting can be.
And I decided to add a little character of the front to give it a bit of balance.
About Rockaway Park
There’s plenty to see here, it’s a feast for the eyes and there’s plenty to do as well because, at the heart of Rockaway Park, are the art studios. Not just painters like me here, at Rockaway Park you’ll find screen printers, carpentry lamp workers, and jewellery makers, graffiti artists, and what I was most interested to see was a blacksmith. It is one of those crafts that’s difficult to imagine how it’s done. It seems so arduous and yet the results are almost magical.
In addition to art studios there are venues for events, accommodation in the shape of Airbnb, rehearsal studios for bands and, most intriguing of all, the forest school of curiosity.
I can easily imagine great artists, such as Turner Goya, and particularly Picasso adoring this place.
The most bizarre and outstanding thing, however, is that Rockaway Park also has its own religion. Yes, this is the home of the chapel of unrest and if you want to become its latest devotee, all you need to do is to pop along to the coffee shop where you’ll find everything you need to become a convert.
Essentially, the chapel of unrest says it represents the disenfranchised, visionaries, dreamers, and misfits. Now I’d say, I’m at least three of those things, so I joined up immediately. All I had to do was to put 10 pounds on the table and then, with an additional 10 pounds, I got a t-shirt, a patch, and a little badge to wear.
Well, there we are then. Two paintings of Rockaway Park where I had a fantastic time. If you’re ever around Somerset then do try and pop in. There are some fantastic people here, some lovely art too and they’ll even make you a cup of coffee.
