Sharp Yellow By : Deborah Susan Jones : Editor"When gorse is out
of blossom, kissing's out of fashion" (Old saying)"Created as part of a major series
of paintings about The Stiperstones Ridge in Shropshire, England, the
exquisite blaze of colour afforded by the spiky Gorse bushes of the
area were an unavoidably attractive and irresistible proposition for
the artist, with their
extreme thorniness. The mature plants have a long enough flowering
season to enrich the area for lengthy periods and so demanded to be a
major part of the project.Flowering in
late autumn and through the winter, and very decidedly into the spring
being seemingly always in flower, and
the flowers have a lovely coconut smell. The meager, rocky, stark terrain of
The Stiperstones provides ideal growing conditions for the hardy Gorse
being often at home on very
rocky soils which repels so many other species. The area, which is
officially one of "outstanding natural beauty" benefits from Gorse in
terms of preservation, an important feature in an area so well known in
its history for mining and its role as a contemporary tourist
attraction and not least of all a destination for committed walkers and
hikers.Each year (in common with Broom) we
make home made wine from Gorse flowers which are also edible, and we
use these in salads harvest them to for tea to drink in the studio.Farmer friends of ours also use
Gorse as cattle fodder as it is high in
protein and used as feed for their livestock,
which has been particularly useful in several bad winters experienced
locally.
The wild Ponies of the Longmynd hill in the area also are known to eat
it.Historically, in olden times, Gorse
was used as dye for fabrics and in hearth fires and in cooking for
heating ovens and furnaces for everything from general cooking to bread
making and even to hang the laundry on!Along with the other paintings in
the series this wonderful painting is a blaze of glorious "sharp
Yellow" more than enough to provide a magnificent central feature to
any room in your house.And it certainly was worth the trek
over the top of the stark mountain that is the Stiperstones ridge from
the relative tranquility of the Church Stretton valley
that is home to our studio." Deborah Susan Jones : Editor
