Justin Twigg Viaduct and the Cloud, near Congleton, Conté Pierre Noire and acrylic ink on paper, 161⁄2x231⁄2in (42x59.5cm)
Artist, Justin Twigg, took a degree in fine art at Manchester Polytechnic, but a career in music and then teaching interrupted his painting for 25 years. A couple of years ago he rediscovered drawing whilst on holiday and since September 2017 has completed over 360 paintings. He writes: ‘I have cycled and driven past this mid- 19th century viaduct many times over the years and often thought it would make an interesting image. The cloud referred to here is the hill, not those in the sky. Since boyhood, I have walked all over Bosley Cloud, the steep side of which is responsible for the local phenomenon of a double sunset where, on the summer solstice, the sun can be seen setting twice – an occurrence that was first written about in 1686 by Robert Plot in his book The Natural History of Stafford-shire.
‘One sunny day recently I decided to walk along as many footpaths and tracks that ran close to the viaduct as I could find, sketching and taking photographs along the way. Back in the studio I used a Conté Pierre Noire to draw the magnificent structure, then added colour with acrylic ink, using large Chinese-style mop brushes, and various rigger brushes for the details. I try to complete these drawings in one go.’