"AUTUMN - THE RIVER ALLEN"

This dashing watercolour, signed and dated '91, was acquired by John’s wife at an auction in 2021. On the back of it was taped an original annotated pencil drawing made on the spot. John didn’t work directly from sketches though sometimes he’d use one as an “aide memoire” as in this case. There was also a letter to the original owners describing the production of this painting and his five year project to depict the Allen in all its seasons. “All is in a continuous state of change. The tree carried downstream does not lie long in the same place, nor do the rocks remain in the same place forever.” Capturing a moment and the swift passing of time was a major element of John’s work, as he noted when writing about another painting in the same series, “All is changing, nothing is permanent.”