logue Exhibition 2015

Exhibition 2015
Wren Gallery
are delighted
to share with
you this A4
sized catalogue
The proportions of Cyril’s work
and the detail do not always lend
themselves well to reproduction
in our normal sized catalogue.
We have therefore decided to
produce this additional catalogue
for you to view on-line so that
you may more easily decide
which one to buy!
Cyril Croucher was born in 1951 and grew up in Shoeburyness, in the East of England. As a child he spent many happy hours in the company of his grandmother a
great storyteller who merged fantasy and reality in her spellbinding tales. These
stories provided the inspiration for his early work, and traces of fantasy can still be
found in his paintings of granite cottages huddled into tiny alleyways around the
safe haven of harbours.
A graduate of Southend-on-Sea Art College Cyril set out to establish himself as a
professional artist. Although he had enjoyed drawing and painting from a young
age he was struggling to create work that satisfied him and pursued a career in
Surveying. In 1994 Cyril moved to the South West and found new inspiration to
return to painting full time.
"When I moved to Cornwall I felt a hunger to start painting again. My surroundings in Cornwall have a huge influence on my work. Harbours, boats,
decaying buildings all play their part in the construction of my paintings. The
subjects which hold a fascination for me are not those normally depicted, rather I am drawn to the shapes, the decay and textures found in buildings,
walls and other structures, in particular the rust bleeding through layers of
fading and peeling paintwork. I strive to convey a feeling of the height of the
buildings and harbour walls which rise up out of tidal waters and rivers when
viewed from a 'low tide' perspective. My Venetian paintings were made following a visit to Venice in July 2005. It was my first time in Venice and I was
not disappointed, consequently I have returned every year since. The romanticism of the faded colours and decay in the buildings, buildings which haven't changed over the centuries, was a perfect subject for my style of painting".
Cyril's entry in the Royal West of England Academy Autumn 2007 exhibition won
the "Viewers' Choice" award. He was accepted in the 2008, 2009 and 2013 Royal
Academy Summer Exhibitions. Wren Gallery has represented Cyril since 2006 exhibiting his work in mixed and solo shows and featuring his paintings at Art Fairs
across the country. We hope Cyril's many collectors worldwide and people just
discovering the magic of his work will enjoy this new exhibition.
All paintings in this collection are acrylic on board
Landing Stage ,
Dartmouth
The port of Dartmouth in south
Devon has a long maritime history.
It is on the western bank of the
river Dart, a long but sheltered
tidal river.
Upper & Lower ferries give access
to Kingswear on the eastern bank,
a heritage steam railway and Torbay beyond.
SOLD
Landing Stage, Dartmouth
20 x 10 inches
£3,000
Liryc’s Circus
Cyril has been fascinated
by the circus world all his
life and frequently paints
scenes from this world.
Colourful helter skelters,
circus tents and the assorted paraphernalia of
everyday circus life litter
this picture, what can you
spot!
Detail of lower left
Liryc’s Circus 19 x 10½ inches
£3,000
Start Point Lighthouse near Dartmouth
Built almost 180 years
ago the Start Point lighthouse protects shipping
on one of the most exposed peninsulas on the
south coast.
Although originally
manned the lighthouse
was automated in 1993.
The tower is 28 metres
tall and of dressed granite
which was brought to the
site by boat.
SOLD
Start Point Lighthouse, near Dartmouth
13½ x 7 inches
The designer was James
Walker who was responsible for 29 lighthouses
including the Needles and
the cost was £2,765.
£1,600
The Clairvoyant ,
Polperro
The Clairvoyant, Polperro 13½ x 7 inches
£1,600
Clevedon Pier
SOLD
Clevedon Pier 13½ x 7 inches
£1,600
Wreck at
Burnham on Sea
This picture from the
Somerset coast shows a
wreck in front of the famous red and white low
wooden pile lighthouse.
Wreck at Burnham on Sea 13½ x 7 inches
£1,600
Tom Bawcocks
Eve at Mousehole
Tom Bawcock's Eve is a
festival held on the 23rd
of December in Mousehole. The festival is held
in celebration and memorial of the efforts of
Mousehole resident Tom
Bawcock to lift a famine
from the village. During
this festival Star Gazy Pie
(a mixed fish, egg and potato pie with protruding
fish heads) is eaten and
depending on the year of
celebration a lantern procession takes place
Tom Bawcocks Eve at Mousehole 16 x 8 inches
£2,000
After the Winter
Storms ,
Penzance
The winter of 2013-4 saw
many damaging storms
around the country and
the coastline of the south
west took quite a pounding.
After the Winter Storms, Penzance 9½ x 5 inches
£1,000
The Royal Dart
The Royal Dart is right
next to the Kingswear
Lower Ferry at the terminus of the heritage railway. This is the other side
of the river to Dartmouth
SOLD
The Royal Dart, 13½ x 7 inches
£1,600
Stairway to the
River ,
SOLD
Stairway to the River
12 x 6 inches
£1,500
San Marco
Bridges,
Venice
SOLD
San Marco Bridges 12 x 6 inches
£1,500
Tropea, Calabria
Italy
Tropea 12 x 6 inches
£1,500
Venetian Water
Taxi
Venice
Water taxis are the
limousines of Venice: With
their spacious leatherupholstered cabins and
private captains to chauffeur
you up the Grand Canal or
between the airport and your
hotel, they offer an
experience that you won't
forget in a hurry.
SOLD
Venetian Water Taxi 10 x 4½ inches
£1,400
Tempus Fugit,
Venice
Two of Cyril’s ever popular
“snapshots” of the back streets of
Venice
Tempus Fugit 7 x 5 inches
£1,000
Weathered walls ,
Venice
Weathered Walls, Venice 7 x 5 inches
£1,000
The Roustabout
What
is
that
hoisting the cat?
SOLD
The Roustabout 11 x 5½ inches
£1,400
that’s
Casa Batllo,
Barcelona
The iconic Modernist
Museum in Barcelona
designed by Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi
(1852-1926) and built
between 1904 & 1906.
The façade was remodelled in a wavy shape
and rendered in lime
plaster and covered
with a mosaic of glass
and ceramic discs.
At the top of the facade,
the roof is in the shape
of an animal’s back with
large iridescent scales.
The spine which forms
the ornamental top is
composed of huge
spherical pieces of masonry in colours which
change as you move
along the roof-tree from
one end to the other.
This magnificent large
scale painting by Cyril
captures the quirky nature of both architect and
artist.
See back page for a detail.
Casa Batllo 47 x 20 inches
£8,000
Riverside,
Dartmouth
Is that an old mangle or a
new barbecue by the
back door
Riverside, Dartmouth
20 x 10 inches
£3,000
Ship of Fools
SOLD
The ship of fools is an
allegory, originating
from Plato, that has
long been a fixture in
Western literature and
art. The allegory depicts
a vessel populated by
human inhabitants who
are deranged, frivolous,
or oblivious passengers
aboard a ship without a
pilot, and seemingly ignorant of their own direction. This concept
makes up the framework of the 15th century
book Ship of Fools
(1494) by Sebastian
Brant, which served as
the inspiration for Hieronymous Bosch's famous painting, Ship of
Fools: a ship—an entire
fleet at first—sets off
from Basel to the paradise of fools. In literary
and artistic compositions of the 15th and
16th centuries, the cultural motif of the ship of
fools also served to parody the 'ark of salvation'
as the Catholic Church
was styled.
View the detail of the
“fools” on this ship in
as much detail as you
can!
Ship of Fools 24 x 12 inches
£4,000
Text © Wikipedia
Dorset Beach
Huts
Very much part of
the colourful
British seaside
town, beach huts
vary from shabby
sheds to small
palaces.
An ideal place to
hide away from
the Summer
weather.
SOLD
Dorset Beach huts
9½ x 5 inches
£1,000
Captain Kidd,
Wapping
London
Although the pub is not
very old in itself the building in which it is based is
an old wharehouse fronting the river on one side
and Wapping high St. on
the other.
It’s fitting that Captain
Kidd should be remembered here at Wapping,
although it took almost
300 years for it to happen.
Kidd was hanged a little
further upstream at Execution Dock in 1701 after
being found guilty of murder and piracy; charges
that were, at best, exaggerated. The hangman’s
rope snapped on the first
attempt, so they hanged
him again. His corpse
was covered in tar and
left to rot in a cage overhanging the river, a stark
reminder to passing sailors of the penalty for piracy.
Captain Kidd, Wapping
12 x 6 inches
£1,500
Happy Returns
Penzance
Happy Returns, Penzance
9½ x 5 inches
£1,000
Boat with No
Name
Boat aside….do you fancy using the spiral staircase!
Boat with No Name 16 x 8 inches
£2,000
Lerryn,
River Fowey
SOLD
Lerryn, River Fowey 13½ x 7 inches
£1,600
Riverside Retreat
Riverside Retreat 16 x 8 inches
£2,000
“Chiranga”
In Penzance
Harbour
Chiranga in Penzance Harbour 12 x 6 inches
£1,500
Ferryside,
Fowey
Daphne Du Maurier
house at Fowey , in 1926
Daphne her mother and
sisters moved here.and
she would go on to write
her first novel “The Loving
Spirit”
SOLD
Ferryside, Fowey 16 x 8 inches
£2,000
It was here in the room
above the figurehead
that Daphne wrote her
first novel The Loving
Spirit. The figurehead is
from the Polruan built ship
Jane Slade which was the
inspiration for the novel
St. Michaels
Mount
Cornwall
One of the iconic Cornish
highlights, the church
was built on the summit of
the island after the
Norman invasion when St
Michael's Mount was
granted to the
Benedictine Abbey of
Mont St Michel in France.
Brimming with treasures
of a past life, the medieval
castle has been passed
down through generations
of the St Aubyn family
and is still home to James
and Mary St Aubyn today.
At the end of 2009, parts
of an axe head, dagger
and intact metal clasp
were found on the Mount.
The British Museum has
confirmed these dating
back to the Bronze Age
and this extraordinary find
is now on display in the
castle.
Depending on the tides
you can walk or take a
boat to the mount.
St. Michaels Mount 16 x 8 inches
£2,000
Contact Us
Wren Gallery, 34 Lower High Street, Burford, Oxon, OX18 4RR
Www.wrenfineart.com
Casa Batllo –detail
enquiries@wrenfineart.com