‘Abreast of Plans’ saucy postcard-style painting

‘Abreast of Plans’  © Peter Gander

My local Herne Bay Pier pier pavilion, a bit of a loveable but ugly 70s architectural icon, is currently under the demolition man’s hammer. However, plans are (ahem!) abreast to design a more aesthetic replacement for the main pavilion which was once home to a legendary skating rink now at Herne Bay High School.  I had gander at the plans in last week’s local paper and the new design gave me erm, a couple of pointers regarding a painting opportunity. The above is my Donald McGill-inspired watercolour entitled ‘Abreast of Plans’, (dimensions approx 30cm x 30cm). This will be on the front page no less of The Herne Bay Times tomorrow morning, (Thursday 16th Feb 2012) so this is a sneeky peek! Original for sale - please email me with enquiries.

Painting details

A shocked seagull drops his chip

Sweet feet

Skates

Crane and demolition ball

Face

Cuppa and Thermos flask

Herne Bay Pier Trust commemorative postcard

 

Commemorative Herne Bay Pier Trust Pavilion postcard © Peter Gander

I have recently produced a humorous postcard for The Herne Bay Pier Trust (HBPT) who have a newly-opened Gallery on the seafront where I live. The pier, which is disconnected from the pier head still visible a third of  a mile away at sea, is also due to lose its 1970s sports pavilion building this year. But this time it will be a demolition crew rather than a severe storm that will see the demise of this part of the pier, as the jaded pavilion building is no longer a viable sports facility though in its time it nurtured Herne Bay’s famous roller skating teams (see the HBPT website for full story). Visually, note that the construction of the sports pavilion’s roof is obviously inspired by the undulating waves of the sea and I mimicked this again in the waves in the foreground. The local angling club, The Herne Bay Angling Association holds a Monster Crabbing Competition for the kids during this week’s Herne Bay Festival which provided a good ‘stage’ for an amusing scene choc-full of people. I painted the original, with hand-lettered elements, at A3 size (420mm x 297mm), which is 8x larger than the final printed postcard dimensions. I allowed for the inclusion of the HBPT logo on the far right but hidden in the original painting behind that very space is a special saucy bonus image that only the buyer of the original painting will get to see ;) The postcards and original painting will be for sale at the HBPT gallery on the seafront with a healthy portion of the proceeds going to the Trust. Permanent ink drawing pen and Winsor & Newton watercolour on Langton Prestige 300gsm smooth paper.