Just a quick note to wish all you readers the seasons greetings as we head towards the end of the year. The picture above is Albion Yard with the first fall of the winter, a good number of you will note the influence of George Iliffe-Stokes. For those not familiar with his work, Malcolm Mitchell has an pictorial appreciation of George on his web site and it’s worth looking at.
www.swindonworks.george-iliffe-stokes

George’s work looked at now still holds that difficult to define and capture ‘atmosphere’. I can recall avidly reading my fathers copies of the modelling magazines of the time and being in awe of the skill of Georges work. At a time when many magazines were showing Bilteezi and Superquick townscapes on billiard table flat baseboards, to see a train that wasn’t ready to run, travelling through a winter landscape was inspiring. Seeing these images now they still have that instant appeal to me, the simplicity of the scene and its detailing all pull together to make a picture with much more impact than it’s individual components. If my Severn and Dean goes ahead I want to be able to capture that same sense of ‘place’, in the English countryside. If I ever get anywhere near that simplicity and effectiveness I’ll be very satisfied, it’s a good and positive target to aim for.

Having followed Malcom Mitchells postings on facebook, Malcolm-Mitchells-A-Shop he recently provided a link to his son, Tom’s music. Among the tracks was this particularly appropriate track for this time of year, which Tom has kindly allowed me to link through this post.

Happy Christmas and Seasons Greetings

Paul M-P

PS if like me you’re working, or a loved one is, make it a good one!

http://www.swindonworks.co.uk/
http://tommitchellmusic.weebly.com/