The Story Behind The Paintings :
A series of interesting and informal insights from the artist about the creation of his paintings from their inception to their completion.
When I first contemplated doing a period piece of a London street scene in the mid sixties there were several areas around London that I considered. I wanted to include transportation subjects that were no longer in daily existence. I also wanted to reflect a different era in regards to traffic and pedestrians. I thought of the Shephard`s Bush area and honed into the Goldhawk Road with its well known London Underground railway bridge where I could include a period railway stock carriage about to cross over the road. This painting was completed thirteen years after I first went to live in California and by then all the different vehicles involved in the scene were no longer seen on London streets. The London Transport RTL bus built in large numbers by Leyland seen plying trade along the Route 88 roads had already retired from service as had the Austin FX3 Taxicab alongside of it. Both these vehicles were numerous in numbers from the early fifties to the mid seventies. Both vehicles being long term favourites of mine. Also in the scene, a Bedford Coal lorry heading to its next delivery with sacks of Coal and Coke on its flatbed – the main fuel source at the time for heating homes and businesses. A period Triumph Bonneville motorcycle with a helmetless rider overtaking the taxicab would be found in great numbers as lower road taxes would apply compared to owning and operating a motor car. The billboard by the bridge displays and markets Super National Petrol which was a popular brand at the time, as was the Jaguar E-Type below the name.
There is a sense of leisurely life within the feel of the painting. It was conveyed on purpose. Two decades had past since the Second World War and rationing of food and articles had only been discontinued some years before. This was the time that the Beatles were becoming popular worldwide and television sets were still all viewable in black and white! There is also a delivery man with his bicycle, fixing a puncture on his wheel before doing his rounds about the neighbourhood. There is a Real Estate Agent’s wooden billboard advertising the sale of property on site and which supercedes the lighter in weight current examples that can be found.
I made sure that I had a good number of passengers depicted upon the top deck of the bus on their way towards the west of London. Its exactly how I remember them at the time. These were in the days of a driver and a conductor, the latter all but disappeared from London life.
This painting took a considerable time to complete in 1993 I remember, owing to the lack of time away from my primary job at the time. It sat for several weekends without even a brushstroke made on the paper. I was delighted that I completed it with so few flaws visible – often a problem when working in watercolours when you have periods of inactivity. I am still proud as to its result. I hope you enjoy the finished article.
Huntly Maury
July 2017
Watercolour Painting Completed in California 1993 Original Artwork 15 x 22 inches