I was not familiar with Cyprus until relatively recently, the name given to a train station on the extreme east of the Docklands Light Railway. It is an outpost of the former London Docks, where there now stands a university with London City Airport situated on the opposing quayside. The name of the station attracted me with its exotic images, and I was not disappointed by the dramatic, spectacular sunsets that prevail over the skyline.
The area has changed so much over the last sixty years, yet the Tate & Lyle Refinery you see to the rear of the airport still stands, dominating the runway where jets take off and land every few minutes, linking the East End to destinations all over Europe. This is the same place where dock workers used to offload their cargoes until the 1970s, when the land became a derelict waste ground. Now we have a university, an airport and a conference centre. Overlooking it all, dour and uncompromising, reigns the stolid Victorian refinery, which survived bombing during the war and countless economic crises including take-over bids.
This painting was begun in January 2017 and it has been through numerous transformations. I almost rejected it at one point, as I was unused to something that felt so different….
Doreen Fletcher 2020
The Windsock 2020 oil on canvas 46 x 61cm (18 x 24”) unframed