Celebrating the beauty of the night skies my new linocuts and monoprints look at iconic landscapes that are enhanced by stunning skies. Initially commissioned by the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority to respond to the barns of Swaledale, I revisited the magnificence of the evening sky and the drama of the landmarks and natural features in silhouette. Originally fascinated by areas with little or no light pollution I soon moved to honour our beautiful skies in all of their glory.
I am extremely privileged to live and work in an area of outstanding natural beauty that is as stunning at night as it is in the daylight, with little or in some areas no street lighting, so much so that the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority hold an annual Dark Skies Festival in February to celebrate this uniqueness in an increasing light polluted world.
Sources of inspiration for the commission are endless from the Ribblehead Viaduct, 3 peaks, barns and stone walls to the curlews, lapwings and indigenous wildlife through to the woodlands carpeted with wild garlic, orchids and bluebells.
Incidently Craven is thought to take it’s name from wild garlic (Norse)
“There is nowhere more beautiful or nothing more inspirational than the Yorkshire Dales at night! I love lying in tall grass on a summers evening staring at the dark skies, because there isn’t any light pollution the sky is so dark that the constellations light the view.”
