When I was putting together my photobook, ’Gently Out Of Time’, I noticed that I’d taken quite a few football related photographs over the last two decades. I included four photographs in the final selection, and this summer I decided to paint them in oils too; one as a large canvas and three smaller works on board.
I’ve never been that much into football, but I usually find myself watching a local game at some point each season. I had a season ticket for Oxford United when I was a teenager (during the glory days!), but I never played for a team. My Dad, however, was always very much involved with local football. He was still playing when I was young, then refereed, ‘ran the line’, and finally, when his knees gave up, marked out the white lines before the games. I have early, happy, football related memories being with my Dad, not only when a match was on, but also during the hustle and bustle of pre and post match player banter, around the cold, musty, changing rooms. I remember calmer moments too, kicking a ball with him in a park or on a beach somewhere, and being amazed how he could kick it so high that it went into the clouds.
Images of football pitches also bring back memories of hanging out with school friends ‘down the rec’. We usually got ‘up to no good’ well into the evening. I think some of the earlier paintings I made for this project are also connected with this ‘hanging out’ part of my life, for example, Ramp, Bunting and Barrier.
