Sunday 19 April 2015

LE TOUR ETAIT ICI


(Or 'A Ride through Yorkshire')

I started this piece in response to the 'Street Scene' theme but somehow it was never finished.  I was going to show it to you anyway when complete but the opportunity has arisen for it to satisfy the theme of 'Through'.

As you can see it is a response to the Tour de France spending the first two days in Yorkshire.  At that time there were high high hopes for a third consecutive British victory but, being British, we have to give the others a chance, don't we?  So Chris wobbled on the cobbles and Cav. crashed in the dash and that was that.  Business as usual!

I have tried to show the speed of the riders by portraying the cyclists and blurring the place names on route. The row of white roses was based on the fact that the Tour went through Yorkshire.  (For non-British members the white rose was the symbol of the House of York in the so-called 'Wars of the Roses' and has remained the badge of the county).  Coincidentally, I was writing this in draft on the day that Richard III was interred, with some pomp, in Leicester Cathedral.

The section underneath the riders is based on pavements, tarmac and cobbles whilst the spectators sitting in deckchairs was inspired by a poster I saw in which the Tour was going through the countryside watched by these relaxed inhabitants.

I tried to make the stitching reflect the subject matter although I am not sure that I managed to show speed that successfully.

In conclusion, we must hope for a better British performance this year.

3 comments:

  1. Brilliant. I love the way all the components give a deeper meaning to the post.

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  2. I like this a lot especially knowing the history behind the scene.

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  3. Thanks to both of you. Your kind comments are much appreciated and it is nice to know that you enjoyed the story behind the work.

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