Painted in late 2019, A Very English Summer incorporates 13 panels. Each panel represents one week. Thus the picture represents one season of the English summer.
I had conceived the idea of making 13 individual paintings. Later, I decided to merge these into a single painting. Each panel contains a print of a photograph. I took these during the Notting Hill Carnival and two trips to the South Coast.
The painting is a testament to the richness and variety of modern England. But it also hints at the divisions which currently beset the country.
The work is secular in nature. But it also reflects an admiration for altarpieces displayed in London’s National Gallery.