This is the first in my series of The American West, inspired by my travels there several years ago. Ive always been a fan of westerns, many of which use Monument Valley in Utah as a backdrop. Its probably the most unique and awe-inspiring place I’ve ever visited.
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 working on a commission lately, hence the radio silence. I will be tackling more Portsmouth landmarks at the next available opportunity, the Odeon, Southsea Skatepark, Portsdown Main & Fratton Park are planned for the next batch. If you have any other suggestions please drop me an email at hello@jamesweaver.co.uk.
In the future I will be creating illustrations from my travels to South America, The American West, and Cuba. In the mean time, here’s the latest work from the Dungeness series.
I recently paid a visit to the bleak shingle headland that is Dungeness, in Kent. I was utterly inspired by this desolate and bizarre landscape, populated by abandoned shacks & MOD radar equipment, jetty’s to nowhere, and houses fashioned from discarded train carriages, all overseen by a giant nuclear power station. It was reminiscent of a ghost town in the wild west, rather than a pebbled beach in the south of England. This illustration will be the first of many depicting this surreal location.
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.