The Long Way Home

The Long Way Home returns to Penkridge, the Staffordshire village where I grew up. Warm light from a canal-side pub spills across the water as figures make their way along the towpath — a route that brings back memories of choosing the longer journey home simply because there was no need to hurry.

The idea for 'The Long Way Home' began with a painting brief. I wanted to create an autumn scene that would allow me to explore artificial light, reflections and the transition from daylight into darkness.

For the location, I returned to Penkridge in Staffordshire, the village where I grew up.

I knew the canal and its towpaths well. When I was younger, walking home after visiting friends didn't always mean taking the quickest route. Sometimes I would choose the towpath instead, a slightly longer journey, but a much more enjoyable one when there was time to wander.

That memory eventually gave the painting its title.

The scene brings together many of the elements I enjoy painting: the warm glow of artificial light against a cooler evening, reflections stretching across water and an ordinary route transformed by the arrival of darkness. The figures on the towpath add a suggestion of another journey taking place, but the painting isn't really about where they're going.

It's about the pleasure of not always choosing the quickest way home.

The location has a personal connection. The pub in the painting is The Cross Keys in Penkridge, Staffordshire, the village where I grew up. That connection gave the title another meaning: The Long Way Home isn't only about choosing the slower, more beautiful route. In a small way, painting it was a journey back to somewhere familiar too.

The Long Way Home later became the subject of an eight-page step-by-step feature for the SAA's Paint & Create magazine, exploring my techniques for painting artificial light and reflections after dark.

Painting coming soon...