Sinti Monastery, Cyprus, 2014

This abandoned Orthodox monastery is tucked away at the end of a long and difficult dirt track that runs along and beside a valley river that flows only when the island has had rain. For a motorcyclist, driving there offers all kinds of thrills and spills, and a few moments of tranquility at the end.

And it was a motorcyclist who commissioned me to paint the Church there. At the time much of my work was with driftwood, and it turned out that I had the perfect piece for the monastery’s setting. I had a frame  made, with a backing board, and mounted the driftwood on blocks to lift it slightly off the board and add some third dimensionality. The shape of the driftwood has fortuitously created the hill behind the church.  

Acrylic on driftwood, mounted on board in an integral hand-painted frame.

The painting is in Cyprus.