'Stolen Car'...

I was out drawing on location last night. I was working in a spot I’ve been returning to on and off for years just under the M5 motorway outside West Bromwich. It’s interesting for all sorts of reasons, including the way the road, river, and rail all cross over each other there. It’s quite a bleak spot, and the railway crossing has seen a number of suicides over the years, and not the safest place to draw (I was firmly locked in the car with my sketchbook).

I’m fascinated by the huge structures that form the underneath of the motorway and the atmosphere of the place . Last night I was trying to develop some drawings I’ve made of these for an idea I’ve had about doing some nocturnes of this particular landscape. These are partly inspired by my memories of walking under these structures as a shortcut on my way home in the dead of night as a teenager from a night out or band practise. It was always a foolish thing to do, and drawing there last night I relived some of these feelings, but was really excited by the light and colour and my attempts to capture these.

I was listening to Springsteen’s ‘The River’, as I drove over. I particularly love the track ‘Stolen Car’, and have often imagined that the words of the character in the song are whispered from a location similar to this one. What a beautifully sad song…