This is a copy of the landscape of the Weir at Spetisbury on the river Stour. The original was painted while the family were on a summer holiday there, staying in a small caravan (trailer) that was parked in a farmer’s field with a view of the river.  My mother had made the arrangements with one of the other parents, the Jackson-Pownalls, at the boarding school where my brother Christopher and I went.  A holiday in a borrowed caravan was the solution for us to “get away” somewhere, when we couldn’t really afford to go anywhere.  It didn’t matter that we were only a half hour’s drive from our house in Bournemouth, this was an adventure and a real change of scenery. 
As we explored our surroundings, my mother thought this view of the weir was worth painting, while her children thought it a great place to play. We all came back the next day, my mother equipped with her easel and painting gear, and us with our wellies. The original painting was completed over the course of two days.  When my father wanted to buy the painting a few years later, my mother wouldn’t part with it but instead painted him this copy.  It is easy to see that this is not a direct duplication of the original but instead works to capture the same sense of the place. My brother inherited the copy from my father and I inherited the original.

The Original