These paintings from an estate, are coming up for sale at Lays on June 11th 2020.

The paintings I have made over the decades have become a visual diary and a record of life . Those below were owned by a dear friend , who often came to my studios . When I see them, I am reminded of the original influences and inspiration for them.

This is a painting I made of John in 1987. At the time, he was the harbourmaster when I had an Acme Studio in Porthleven. He was a man of few words , out in all weathers organising the boats and keeping the place tidy. His office was next to the stone steps that took me up the second floor studio that I shared with my dog Ruby.

The painting below, is all about a tiny black cat that we rescued when we lived in a cottage in Gloucestershire . He was a scraggy little thing , very under fed, the vet had told us he had kidney damage from rat poison,  so he had ongoing health issues, anyway, he lived out the rest of his life happily with us. Although, he never grew , he was always like this , affectionate, and shy, with wide eyes.

In the 1980’s we had visited family that lived in Spain. While there, we took the opportunity to go to Madrid to see the wonderful Goya paintings in the Prado . That day, we came across a flea market in a square, and I bought a rustic painted and carved wooden duck . Sadly, I think it was originally intended as a decoy. But back in the studio , the carving inspired this colour palette and a new narrative .

These paintings and many more by Cornish artists can be found at – https://www.davidlay.co.uk