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TRANQUIL GARDENS (1980-83)

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"On the beacon" 1980 oil 34x44cm

"From the beacon No 5" 1983 oil on canvas 91x127cm

"Under the Beacon" 1982 oil 39x46cm

The 'Tranquil Gardens' series of paintings are inspired by the landscape of Dorset. From the early 1970’s the Fraser family had taken winter holidays in Lyme Regis, staying at the cottage of Richard Robbins, one of Ian’s colleagues and friends. Ian had always been interested in landscape and symbolism and in Dorset he found a rich source of inspiration. The family became avid collectors of fossils and we visited many archaeology sites. Ian became intrigued by the ley line theories of Arthur Watkins and the patterns that underlie our landscape, patterns and forms he incorporated into the complex paintings.

Ian wrote the following untitled poem about the cast of a fossilised sea-urchin at some point in the early 70’s:
‘Matrix of living, cupped in my hand,
How lightly weighs a hundred million years.
Moments of this summer’s day, a talisman
Not as some flinty witness to mortality.
Your time worn symmetry shall be reminder of
Chance meeting in a sunlit Dorset field.’

The paintings were exhibited at the Phoenix Gallery, Lavenham, Suffolk and at the New Phoenix Gallery at Highgate.


"View from the beacon" 1982 oil 30x49cm

"The view from the tower" 1982 oil 122x152cm

"Study for Tranquil Garden" 1981 oil 30x30cm

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