A Map of Elsewhere

‘Map of Elsewhere’ Mixed media on canvas. 40cm x 40cm.

After not showing work for a while it is quite exciting to have two paintings on display simultaneously in Yorkshire in both Sheffield and Beverley. This painting is now up on display in the Beverley Art Gallery (part of the East Riding Museum). It’s always a bit of gamble submitting to open art competitions but this one caught my eye as it involved a physical selection process - which seems highly unusual in today’s digital world.

There was no uploading a photo of the work for selection and the usual issues around keeping everything square to avoid cropping off edges. I had to physically drop off the painting at the Museum and then leave it there to be judged on its own terms. There wasn’t even a digital pre-selection stage. So much of how art gets shared and judged now happens through a screen. I always feel that we lose something when we just view art this way. You can’t really fully grasp how the brushstrokes interact or the way the paint might sit raised off the canvas. Or how you need to see a painting at different distances to appreciate it as a whole. It flatters some paintings and hides the best parts of others.

Despite living in Yorkshire for over 5 years now, I still operate under the misguided belief that nowhere in Yorkshire is that far from Harrogate (not true!). Beverley is a good 90 mins from Harrogate (longer if you make the mistake of going via the York ring road) but it more than rewards the drive. The Minister in Beverley is really stunning, the market place is lovely and the town is full of proper, lovely little coffee shops and bakeries - always great in my opinion (especially after a drive!).

But the approach to the town has got to be one of the best. You come in across cattle grids and across the Westwood, where the town’s cattle graze freely alongside the fairways of the local golf club - cows and golfers sharing the same area like it is the most normal thing in the world. It’s quite a surreal thing to see but quite uplifting too. Always great to see cattle having the space to roam. Feels a bit like driving through the New Forest but with cattle instead of horses.

This painting wasn’t inspired by Westwood but it did make me think that its title' ‘A Map of Elsewhere’ was quite a fitting given that the approach via Westwood really does feel quite removed from regular reality.

The exhibition is on until 17th December 2026 at Beverley Art Gallery (within Champney Treasure House, East Riding Museum).