The Wonderful Street

The other day I browsed The News online. Suddenly I saw this article about a Southsea street painted in rainbow colors. I was astounded, because in April 2009 I painted a picture which I called The Wonderful Street.

I have it up for sale in my online Etsy shop.

I had based the street very loosely on Walmer Road near Fratton Station; a long, bendy road full of fairly typical similar Portsmouth houses.

I wanted to respond to the sameness and sometimes drabness seen in city streets.I wanted a wonderful street, where the uniqueness of individuals could be expressed with color.

Life is certainly not always wonderful, but wonderful things do happen now and then. Being a unique individual is a wonderful thing. We can keep ourselves to ourselves and stay behind closed doors; in my Wonderful Street, color unites disparate lives, makes a statement about the wonderful world we have and can have a powerful effect on human emotion.

Several years ago I was told I had Fuch's Dystrophy and would lose my eyesight. I determined to enjoy color for as long as I could see, and enjoy texture not only while I could see but afterwards, when my sight failed.

This situation pushed me further into exploring color around me. Round about a year ago I learned I had been misdiagnosed; it is a difficult condition to diagnose, evidently, and I did not have it!

So, the terrible contemplation of loosing my sight led to wonderful outcomes, eventually. That does not always happen but there IS wonder and joy in the world.

Seeing my painting come to life, as it were, I contacted the reporter who had written the article.

This morning a News Photographer took photos of me holding my painting in Exmouth Road. It was astonishing.

I think you too will be amazed. Neither artist copied the other, we have not met, we simply had similar ideas and executed them at different times, differently.