WhitbyGothic    

Many moons ago in a small, ancient northern English port perched on the edge of the world, it was a cold but sunny morning. The year was 2012, the month October and it was the occasion of the Whitby Gothic Weekend. Enjoying the fine, sunny morning, an artist and his wife were walking along Skinner Street when they paused to admire the sight of a lady walking on the other side of the road. Her face was pale and her hair long and dark and she wearing the most exquisite Victorian dress.

Being an artist, the gentleman knew he could not let this moment pass him by so he crossed the street and approached the young lady, complimenting her on her attire and asking for permission to photograph her, whereupon the young lady kindly obliged. Later, the artist returned home and began to draw the beautiful lady who wore the most exquisite Victorian dress.

The image of the lady was soon joined by other images from Whitby - a steam train, a sailing ship, the Lady Hild banishing the snakes from the site of her monastery. In time those images became ‘Paean to Whitby’* from which were drawn several artworks: The Somnambulist at the Abbey, Lady Midnight and The Goth Express. And that, is how WhitbyGothic and my gothic art journey began.

'Paean to Whitby' is a personal homage to my hometown and includes many of the characters and themes which make this small, northern English port such a giant from a literary, cultural and historical perspective : Dracula and his creator, Bram Stoker; the Lady Hild and her famous Abbey and Caedmon, the father of English poetry who lived there; the Vikings with the hammer of Thor and their drakkars; the amazing art of the Anglo-Saxons; the shipping and fishing industries, represented by Captain Cook's Endeavour and the humble coble; the jet industry; steam engines, the Goth Express, and of course, the Whitby Gothic Weekend as epitomised by our elegant lady dressed in black. If you are lucky enough to be in Whitby, ‘Paean’ is available at the Captain Cook Museum on Grape Lane; otherwise you can find it in store here.