First post in over a year! Been a hectic 12 months moving house then working on a massive home project, while still working on a few commissions on the side, all of which I’ll be sharing shortly.
This latest illustration is a quite different style, an obviously much more minimal approach which I’m experimenting with, more of which will be on the way. Be good to know your thoughts.
I’ve been experimenting with color treatments of late, there will be more to come, and it would be good to know peoples thoughts.
Both of these are available for purchase, if interested just choose the desired size from the Clarence Pier #2 page, and enter which you would like under ‘Special instructions’ in the Paypal checkout page.
Clarence Pier was built in 1861, channeling steamboats over to the Isle of Wight. It was heavily bombed in World War II, and reopened in its present form with amusement arcades and funfair in 1961. A decline in interest to traditional British seaside attractions led to the Pier coming close to bankruptcy in recent times, and its days are surely numbered, although Pirate Pete’s, the legendary childrens indoor playground (social leprosy would be dead cert if any self-respecting primary schooler declined to hold their birthday party there in the late 80’s – early 90’s) is still in use, as is the Skyways rollercoaster, and one of the few remaining Wimpy bars can be found there.
The Pyramids, situated on Southsea Seafront, was opened in 1988. Primarily a water park & swimming pool, it has also doubled as a music venue & nightclub, hosting popular artists such as the Arctic Monkeys, and was home to the notorious ‘Decadence’ hard-house nights. The Pyramids itself has become severely dilapidated in recent times, like much of Southsea seafront. Portsmouth City Council have been trying to close The Pyramids since early 2008 due to the cost of repairing it, but after being delays caused by protesting the centre was eventually taken over by a leisure company, and although currently closed there are apparently plans to reopen at the end of July 2010 after renovation.
Many a visitor to Portsmouth would be familiar with the sight of the decaying yet iconic Greyhound Stadium that greets entrants to the city from its gateway at the west side of the island. The stadium, situated in Tipner, between derelict scrapyards and wasteland, was opened in 1931. One of the oldest greyhound racing tracks in the country, numbers of punters had dwindled in recent times, and the site was sold to the Tipner Regeneration Company in 2008, to be redeveloped as housing. The stadium was leased back for a short time, until it was closed for good in March 2010, to the loss of 47 jobs and 200 homeless greyhounds. The stadium stands derelict, slowly picked apart by vandals, as it surely will for years, before any actual ‘redevelopment’ is begun.
Clarence Pier was built in 1861, channeling steamboats over to the Isle of Wight. It was heavily bombed in World War II, and reopened in its present form with amusement arcades and funfair in 1961. A decline in interest to traditional British seaside attractions led to the Pier coming close to bankruptcy in recent times, and its days are surely numbered, although Pirate Pete’s, the legendary childrens indoor playground (social leprosy would be dead cert if any self-respecting primary schooler declined to hold their birthday party there in the late 80’s – early 90’s) is still in use, as is the Skyways rollercoaster, and one of the few remaining Wimpy bars can be found there.
South Parade Pier was built in 1879. It was the centrepiece of Southsea’s popular seaside attractions at the resorts victorian-era peak. It still stands today, despite damage from several fires over the years, the most infamous being the blaze started during filming of Ken Russell’s film, Tommy. Today, its crumbling foundations, empty amusement arcade, and desolate fairground can give it the feel of a ghost town at times.
The art deco style Carlton Cinema in Cosham was opened in 1934. The ownership of the cinema changed hands many times over the years, leading to it being renamed under aliases such as Virgin, ABC, and Cannon. It was closed in January of 2003 before it was reopened 25 days later under the original name, the Carlton. In 2007 it brought down the curtains for good, and it has been in a state of decay ever since.
The Blue Lagoon was the function room for the Hilsea Lido, an art deco style outdoor swimming pool. The Lido opened in 1935, but was closed in 2006. Recently a group of local residents formed a project to renovate the Lido, and there are plans to reopen it next year.
Southsea’s victorian-era seafront, a once popular destination for holiday makers, has declined rapidly in recent years. Restoration has begun, but many of its attractions remain tatty and run-down.