Barnes Cemetery

Barnes Cemetery monuments

This abandoned graveyard is the Old Barnes cemetery in west London. The teetering monuments and eroded angels have an air of sad decay. Fading inscriptions allude to long-forgotten family vendettas and rifts.

Barnes Cemetery

In the bright sunshine, the trees seem to bow in mourning as nature slowly reclaims the monuments’ straight lines and rigid columns. I like the contrast of the brilliant light and the dark foliage.

I painted this little ‘side piece’ when I needed to stop working on my ‘bluebells’ painting. The work is often arduous, and time is needed to reflect on the direction a painting is taking. Looking and thinking are as much a part of art as physical activity.

You might like this painting of Brighton, or this one of a Wild Rose.