IMAGES FROM BLAKENEY, NORFOLK, ON A MISTY AFTERNOON, 6TH MARCH 2026...

 

TEMPTATION IN THE ORCHARD... (My poem inspired by a Nelly Erichsen painting...)

 Temptation In The Orchard…

(Inspired by Nelly Erichsen’s painting…)

Awash with such rich colour,

Reminiscent of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood,

An orchard basks, its gleam

Embellishing the dream

Of a romantic liaison,

Capturing the two lovers’ mood

Of hesitation, of valour,

Restraint, yet secretive amour…

A temptation is illustrated,

A sensual fusion,

By succulent apples galore.

Yet there is no touching, 

Cheeks merely flushing

At the fellow’s intrusion

And the impasse forged by frustration…

Pete Ray…

Such colour, such a dilemma…

The thoughts of independent source, The Sand Martin...

‘This exquisite oil on canvas painting features a young couple in an intriguing pose within an apple orchard. They stand beneath a tree that leans across to form an arch with another.

Perhaps the entreating and endearing stance of the young man and the thoughtful pose of the young lady indicate that romance is in the air. His arm leaning on the tree behind her enfolds the young lady. 

Could the arch formed by the interlocking branches trees be symbolic of a wedding arch in the future? 

The abundance of ripe fruit may a metaphor for the fulfilment of their love being blessed with children. His close proximity and hand on her upper arm towards her shoulder certainly show a level of a very comfortable familiarity. 

The use of soft shades of primary colours with the opposing red and green, blue and yellow is relaxing. 

The entire scene feels gentle, being mostly painted in beautiful shades of calming green as we see the grass dappled with sunlight through the trees that gradually gently fade into the background keeping the focus on the young couple. 

They both have auburn hair and are painted in delicate pastel shades with trousers and skirt, apron and shirt, waistcoat and blouse being rather similar colours, uniting this pair as a connected couple. 

The thoughtful tilt of her head and hand on the chin tell us that serious thought and reflection is under consideration by the young lady. 

Whatever the outcome it was most definitely given due thought and attention, as this wonderful painting also rightfully merits…’

PENNINE MILL, WINTER TIME... (My new poem inspired by a Peter Brook painting...)

 Pennine Mill, Winter Time…

(My new poem inspired by a Peter Brook painting…)

Distant hills fail to escape the all encompassing gloom

Of an industrial sky, colourless except for an apricot beam,

A promise, barely comforting, merely a weak streak above the institution.

Grim windows, cell-like, render the mill austere, as severe as doom

And only cursory white frost upon its shallow roof provides limited gleam.

Smoke billows its gasps like signals, from a smaller waterside construction,

Whilst the huge stack pierces the sickly factorial pollution

And shards of ice lurk upon the surface of the waterway, an illusion,
A shattered mirror fracturing the reality into a shivering confusion… 

Pete Ray…

3rd March 2026…

Peter Brook’s painting made me sit and look.

I was made to feel.

And history was there to experience…

The thoughts of independent source, The Sand Martin...

'This dour, dark mill painting harks back to a time in history when the relentless slog of human endeavour for pitiful wages kept the workers’ families in poverty whilst the mill owners revelled in luxury.

The mill symbolises the bleak exhausting lives of workers made old before their time by a treadmill existence of sheer slog and utter misery. The windows are difficult to make out, being painted in shades of dark colours like the entire building. 

The ice-white frost on the roof and adjacent buildings is the only brightness in the picture and illuminates by contrast the dreary industrial buildings. An enormous chimney towers high up into a gloomy sky and the hills in the background with a light covering of frost or snow add no joy to this scene. 

The location chosen for the abundance of running water is an abomination of nature spoiling the countryside but at the same time providing mind-numbing work for those with little alternative and hungry families. 

Whereas the industrial buildings are almost mid centre and dominate the picture the cold icy water flows outwards towards the onlooker. It makes one shiver, being painted in hues of greenish grey and is not at all appealing, though it balances the buildings perfectly. 

The broken ice floating along is reminiscent of the broken lives these workers lived at a time when labour was cheap and safety at work was not a priority or concern. Now many such industrial premises have been transformed into comfortable homes, shopping spaces or art galleries and the horrors of yesteryear are consigned to history. 

This painting captures the cold harshness of a bygone age superbly...'

33 IMAGES OF BIRDS AT UPTON WARREN, WORCESTERSHIRE, 4TH MARCH 2026...