The Cafe Royal is a 50's restaurant in the small town of Bridport, Dorset, UK, where I live. For me it's the most interesting building in the town, and a welcome break from the usual 'picture postcard' views of twee red-brick dwellings covered in ivy and flowers.
Cafe Royal 1, oil on canvas, 150x75cm
I made the first Cafe (above) in 2001, mainly because I wanted to find new ways to connect with more people. I'd been working on a series of large Abstract 'process' paintings since 1995, and I found that they were simply too obscure to appeal to a wide audience.
I pass the Cafe Royal on my way (by bicycle) to my studio every day, so I've watched it change from dawn to dusk, and throughout the seasons, for several years.
It also contains so many metaphors for my experiences growing up in the UK, and the way we live today. The 'greasy spoon' cafe is a familiar sight in towns across the country, and next to motorway service stations. The food is usually criminally bad, and yet somehow these places remain, sustained probably by the constant flow of travellers and truckers needing to eat, however unhealthy the food might be...
But there's also a very welcoming and reassuring side to these Cafes, particularly at night, or during the dark winter evenings. And in their clumsy way they become emblems of hope, with the promise of warmth and friendly company.
Cafe
Royal 2, oil on canvas, 150x75cmThe second Cafe is starker and no people are visible, with the focus now purely on the building itself. The Cafe still looks welcoming, drawing the viewer in from the dark, lonely streets. There is an air of anticipation in the air, as if a story is unfolding, and the long, panoramic shape of the canvas adds a 'cinematic' effect, as if we are watching a 'still' image from a movie...
Cafe Royal 3
The third Cafe is more subdued in tone. Once again the streets are empty, but now the cafe is deserted as well, with just a scattering of light showing from the vending machines inside. The streets have a rather urban feel, and the road is dark and drab. Even the blue sky overhead is looking less benign, perhaps it's about to turn stormy? Only this time we'll have nowhere go to to escape the rain...
Cafe Royal 4
The forth in the series goes deeper into Film Noir territory, the light has almost gone, creating an eerie, haunted atmosphere.
Cafe Royal 6, oil on canvas, 120x60cm
*** UPDATE Jan 11 2011
Four more Cafe Royal paintings!
Cafe Royal Clouds, oil on canvas, 120x60cm
Cafe Royal Riley, oil on cavas, 30x15cm
Cafe Royal Wet Roads, oil on canvas, 120x60cm
Dark Cafe, oil on canvas, 180x71cm
