Newly painted

click photo to enlarge
I've heard it argued that the white marble, limestone (and whitewash) of Mediterranean buildings, as well as reducing the impact of the sun, enhance the architecture of the buildings of ancient Greece and Roman; that the styles that arose, the ornament that developed and the massing that was adopted, came about, in part, because of the way the bright Mediterranean sun is able to throw such forms into sharp relief against their attendant shadows. Those who hold such views often advance in support of their argument the suggestion that the Gothic style developed in less brightly lit Northern Europe because it was more suited to the lower levels of sunlight. I've never found these arguments very convincing. Venetian Gothic, for example, looks just as sharp as Classical architecture under bright sunlight. Were Gothic cathedrals painted white they would look sharper still.

Moreover, Classical styles in Northern Europe, when seen under clear blue skies, show similar qualities to Mediterranean examples. I thought this a couple of days ago when I passed the Classically-styled Methodist church in Bourne, Lincolnshire. It was newly painted white and positively shone in the sunlight, the shadows of its pilasters, pediment and architrave looking like they were drawn with a ruler. Quite a contrast, in fact, to the surrounding, unadorned, bricks and mortar.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Nikon D5300
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 23mm (34mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/800 sec
ISO:100
Exposure Compensation: -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

The tide of green paint

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Over the past twenty years a tide of green paint has lapped over our villages and towns, initially affecting the more well-to-do areas, then extending into less prosperous regions. It started out as almost exclusively sage green, then branched out into other shades of muted green, sometimes with a hint of blue, often leaning more towards grey. If you search out this range of colours you'll find them offered by suppliers of "heritage" paints. However, such is their popularity, some mainstream paint companies now stock them. Is this simply fashion or are there deeper influences at work? The change in the colours of doors, windows, fences and other exterior woodwork from white and strong colours to these more earthy hues is not something that has been widely noted or much commented upon, so here are some of my thoughts on the subject.

The increasing search for authenticity in heritage projects and building restoration during the last quarter of the twentieth century prompted interest and research into the use of paint from the seventeenth century through to the present day. By scrutiny of primary records - job specifications, contractors' estimates and bills, buyers' and visitors' diaries etc, as well as microscopic analysis of the layers of of paint on old surfaces - a revised view of the composition and colours of paint used in the past was formulated. A range of muted greens were found to be popular during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. So too were colours in the off-white, brown, mauve/peach, orange, blue, grey and stone ranges. None of these, especially when used outdoors, were strident colours, though stronger colours were used indoors. For reasons difficult to determine, the range of greens became much more popular than the other muted colours. That's not to say the others weren't used, they were, especially for external render, but also for woodwork. But, the greens were much more widely used. Perhaps their popularity grew as a result of the increase in membership of organisations who first used these colours - bodies such as the National Trust and English Heritage. People visiting houses that were restored using the new thinking about paint may well have been influenced to adopt the new colours too, especially if they lived in a period property.

Today the greens described above are used fairly indiscriminately on buildings old and new. I recently passed some very new flats (styled in a modern way) in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, that had windows and doors painted sage green and walls that were clad in hardwood. As I've travelled around the country I've also detected that this kind of green paint seems to be used as a badge of belonging by people of a certain class and outlook. This struck me most forcibly when I was recently in Tewkesbury, a town that more than most has succumbed to this fashion.

Today's photograph shows two such doors in Ely, Cambridgeshire. That the tide of green paint continues unabated is clear when you compare the colour of the rightmost house on Google Street View with that of today. As I took my photograph, drawn to the scene by the overlay of tree shadows on the yellow brick walls, I wondered what colour the painter was going to use when he had finished preparing the wood.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 45mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/400
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Votes and buoys

click photo to enlarge

For most of my lifetime the majority of the electorate have voted for left of centre candidates in UK elections. And, for most of my lifetime our first past the post voting system has delivered a right of centre government with a parliamentary majority. As a result of yesterday's vote against the proposed AV system for future elections, this state of affairs looks set to continue.

Is this what those voting "No" wanted? Perhaps, but I find it hard to think so. There are several reasons people rejected change including inertia, a preference for "simplicity" over "complexity", a campaign of bile and lies (from both sides), the desire to punish the Lib-Dems, a disillusionment with politics in general and more. But, at the heart of it is, I think, the fact that a large section of the British public are not terribly interested in politics and still collectively leans towards the "they're all the same" point of view when it comes to political parties. This would account not only for the low turnout but also the tendency to vote for the status quo. However, it never was true in the past that all parties are the same (though under New Labour it was sometimes difficult to discern the difference) and it's not true now. We have many political parties in the UK, but the fact is, of those that are well-supported there is only one whose principal aim is to transfer wealth from the poor and the middle classes to business and the wealthy. Don't know which one? Well, today you can identify their leaders by the grin on their faces, a smirk that has appeared because the "No" vote means their core task will be just as easy as it always was.

I've photographed the subject of today's image several times and have never been happy with the outcome. It shows the area where buoys are re-painted on Purfleet Quay on the River Great Ouse at King's Lynn, Norfolk. As well as a few old buoys there are paint marks on the ground and a contraption that, in some way, must be used to aid the painting, though quite how I can't imagine. Given that the subject is colourful, with red, green and yellow buoys and rings of paint, it may seem odd that I've chosen a black and white treatment. But, the truth is that light is usually more important than colour in creating a photograph, and here shooting fairly close to the sun gave me a curved composition, made more of the shapes and delivered a shot that I liked.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 28mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/320
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.67 EV
Image Stabilisation: On