Convert your camera tripod into a functioning versatile easel.
Last chance to see Spurn lighthouse before restoration: Nick Matson art exhibition is final show
By Hull Daily Mail | Posted: October 23, 2013
By Danny Longhorn
INSPIRATION: Nick Matson at work in the lighthouse.
Comments (0)
VISITORS are being given a final chance to view the crumbling walls of a Holderness lighthouse before it is restored as part of a £650,000 project. The striking Victorian structure at Spurn, which was decommissioned almost 30 years ago, will be transformed into a heritage centre in the spring.
This weekend, the work of Nick Matson will be exhibited – the last artist in residence before the lighthouse is closed for restoration.
Harry Watkins, conservation project officer for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, said more than 800 people attended the last exhibition.
“It’ll be a great opportunity to see local art exhibited in the lighthouse and, of course, to see the lighthouse in its current condition,” he said.
RELATED ARTICLES
£470k to turn Spurn Point lighthouse into tourist attraction with breathtaking views
“We get a lot of photographers interested in the lighthouse because of all the crumbling walls and view, so they may be interested in coming to photograph and record it before the work starts.”
The funding, the majority of which has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund, will be spent on the lighthouse and two nearby military buildings. A First World War gun store will be turned into a toilet block and a Second World War gun emplacement will become a viewing platform.
The money, which has to be spent within three years, will also go towards several community events on the site.
For Mr Matson, of Beverley, Spurn Point holds “a very tight grip” on him.
“It’s my favourite place on the planet, I tell people,” he said.
“I’m never quite sure telling others about it is the right or wrong thing to do.
“I’ve been down there on Christmas Day, blasted from all sides by the gusts of winter.
“I’ve walked it from Kilnsea to the tip and back on a hot day and have been rewarded with a sunburn and a raging thirst to quench at the Crown and Anchor. Spurn Point can draw me there no matter what the weather.”
Mr Matson has been photographing and painting Spurn for more than 20 years.
He said: “The lighthouse was always a draw and I was always curious as to what it might be like inside.
“To be able to work from the Spurn Lighthouse lightroom has been a dream come true.
“It is a very inspiring place to be. Spurn is a fast-moving place for tides, light and movement of birds, so when you take a position to paint you have to work fairly quickly.
“This has proven a challenge for my style of realism painting and drawing and has enabled my technique to free up a bit.
“A selection of acrylic paintings and charcoal drawings, as well as photographs and sketches, have been the result of the residency and I like to feel that I have captured the vibrancy and atmosphere of this wonderful place.”
The events take place at the lighthouse from 11am to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The road along Spurn Point is closed to cars, so visitors will have to walk to the lighthouse.
Not finished yet but run out of daylight.
A Spurn Odyssey by Nick Matson 