Simon Lewis Birch

Durgan
Mixed Media - Acrylic and Charcoal on board 87 cm x 62 cm
Situated on the Helford estuary near Falmouth, Durgan is a charming hamlet. The lane leading down to it is framed by majestic trees. The painting evokes the sereness of this location and is created from memory. Rendered with a blend of autumnal colours and soft brushwork, Durgan reflects my initial experience of this picturesque spot. The work recalls an early September when I, accompanied by a friend, walked from Durgan along the coast path to the Ferry Boat Inn at Helford Passage. The scene depicted is not just a physical space but a deeply personal beginning, marking the beginning of a new chapter for me living in Cornwall.

Interior (Triptych)
Acrylic mixed media on board 87 cm x 62 cm (each painting)
This painting offers a profound exploration of both external and internal Cornish landscapes. Spanning a panoramic view across the terrain of Cornwall, this work began as a simple sketch but as I painted it started to reference the county's mining heritage. As you journey across the three paintings, you traverse from the remnants of mining ruins towards a representation of the coast. Yet Interior is more than a geographical exploration; it is an emotional and psychological journey. My affection for Cornwall is in every brushstroke I make, translating a deep-seated connection into a visual language. This work transcends the physical landscape, becoming an inscape—a visual representation of my inner world and emotional response to the county they cherish. This Cornish landscape triptych, INTERIOR, format enhances the narrative, a duality of the external environment and the internal emotional landscape. Through this intricate interplay, Interior challenges us to consider how our surroundings shape and reflect our inner selves.

Autumn Callestick
Acrylic mixed media on board 32.5 cm x 32.5 cm
Autumn Callestick was born from a sketch taken during a leisurely walk along a bridle path in Callestick, a charming village nestled in the heart of Cornwall. From observation to imagination, this painting ventures beyond mere representation. The sketch that inspired this work captured the essence of a typical autumn day in Callestick, but here, I have embraced the freedom of artistic expression to transcend the initial observation. By infusing the scene with a generous dose of artistic license, I have allowed the colours, shapes, and forms to evolve into a more poetic and evocative portrayal. In this piece, the familiar elements of the landscape are transformed through a vibrant interplay of hues and abstracted forms. The richness of autumn is rendered through a dynamic palette. The bridle path, once a simple route, becomes a flowing tapestry of colour and shape. "Autumn Callestick' is an exploration of how memory and artistic vision can merge to create a landscape that is both grounded in reality and elevated by poetic interpretation.

Bird song and warm lanes
Acrylic mixed media on board 87 cm x 62 cm
Birdsong and Warm Lanes emerges from a spontaneous sketch completed in 2023, evolving into a vibrant testament to the symbiotic relationship between natural soundscapes and their visual counterparts. This painting weaves together the musicality of heard birdsong with the rhythmic patterns of the landscape—capturing the essence of lanes, hedgerows, and fields. In Birdsong and Warm Lanes, I have translated the auditory experience of birdsong into a visual representation. The lines and brushstrokes mirror the melodies of nature, while the interplay of light and colour evokes the warmth and rhythm of the countryside. This work goes beyond a mere depiction of rural scenery; it embodies the dynamic, almost musical quality of the environment. Through this piece, you are invited to experience the landscape not only as a visual scene but as a sensory experience that resonates with the sounds and rhythms of nature. Birdsong and Warm Lanes is both a celebration of the natural world and a reflection on the profound connection between sight and sound in our experience of the landscape.

A stream runs through the wood
Acrylic mixed media on board 32.5 cm x 32.5 cm
In the heart of Cornwall, where our plentiful rainfall means that water weaves a dance through the land with streams and brooks winding their way through the temperate rainforests. A Stream Runs Through the Wood, seeks to encapsulate this enchanting interplay of light and shade that defines our verdant forests. A place where the air is thick with the scent of earth and foliage, where sunlight filters through a dense canopy, casting fragmented rays upon the surface of a gently babbling brooks. This painting is more than a representation; as here I have sought to portray the delicate balance between the damp, shadowed recesses of the forest and the glistening highlights that punctuate the landscape. In A Stream Runs Through the Wood, my aim is to capture a space where time seems suspended, and the ordinary becomes extraordinary. It is a reflection of how, in woodland, you can feel both protected and exhilarated, immersed in the timeless magic of the natural world.

Tehidy Wood
Acrylic mixed media on board 32.5 cm x 32.5 cm
Tehidy Wood captures the serene allure of Tehidy Country Park, a captivating woodland retreat located in Cornwall, northwest of Redruth and Camborne. This painting is inspired by its enchanting pathways and lush woodland. In this artwork, the trees are rendered as figures, their limbs extending under of natural canopy of leaves that filters the dappled sunlight. Tehidy Wood is homage to a place cherished by many for its peaceful ambiance and accessible natural splendour. Through this painting, I aimed to convey not only the physical characteristics of this small part of the wood but also the feeling of sanctuary I experienced there.

Bridle path in spring
Acrylic mixed media on board 32.5 cm x 32.5 cm
Bridle Path in Spring is a personal reflection of a beloved Cornish landscape. The painting captures a segment of the bridle path that skirts the edges of Callestick, a picturesque village nestled in the heart of Cornwall. Inspired by the first signs of spring, this work aims to convey the invigorating freshness of the season as new green growth pushes its way through the lingering bronze leaves of the previous year. A neighbour of mine visited my studio and saw this piece in its early stages, she commented that it evoked memories of her own horseback rides along similar paths. Her reaction was a delightful affirmation that I was on the right track with this painting and encouraged me to keep painting. In Bridle Path in Spring, I sought to encapsulate the vibrant renewal of spring. The painting is about the promise of what is to come, capturing the delicate interplay between the last vestiges of autumn and the burgeoning vitality of the new season. I hope it evokes memories of fresh, bright spring days for you.

Winter morning on the edge of the wood
Acrylic mixed media on board 32.5 cm x 32.5 cm
In Winter Morning at the Edge of the Wood, I capture the quiet moment of a wintry dawn, following a night of heavy rain. The painting invites you to experience the serene moment when nature, refreshed and glistening, stands on the cusp of a new day. Winter Morning at the Edge of the Wood depicts the boundary where woodland meets an open field, a place where the first light of morning gently reveals the landscape's delicate transformation. The sky is now clearing, allowing slivers of cool, crisp sunlight to pierce through. This nascent pink morning light starts to remove the lingering mist, illuminating the damp, sodden earth with a subdued. The ground, still drenched from the night's downpour, retains the chill of winter. The air is laden with a cool dampness, accentuating the sense of a fresh beginning and the stillness that accompanies the dawn. In this painting, I aim to convey not just the visual beauty but also the sensory experience of a winter morning. It is a meditation on the transition between night and day, storm and calm.

Undertow
Acrylic mixed media on board 87 cm x 62 cm
The meaning of the word 'undertow' pretty much describes this painting. When I stand on a beach in front of a riptide, I feel the energy of the outward force that can easily draw you out to sea and the strong undercurrent of a wave that can physically pull you under. The energy in this work, along with the dark areas and the subtle suggestion of menhir like stones in the bottom centre of the painting, suggest something that exists and moves under the surface. I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre and phthalo turquoise, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using different sized brushes and a silicon wedge. I have also applied deep intense patches of charcoal, as well as soft pastel lines and smudges to add different textures and intensity. This painting is built up of layers which have been applied and removed as part of the process of arriving at the finished piece.

Storm Warning
Acrylic mixed media on board 55 cm x 55 cm
Before I lived in Cornwall, I would listen to the Shipping Forecast late at night. I paid attention to the forecast for the areas around Cornwall: Lundy, Fastnet and Plymouth, and imagined the weather conditions out at sea. I was often tucked up in bed whilst listening, feeling safe as storm and gale warnings were issued. This painting is a response to my imagining the power of the rough seas, driving rain and gale and storm force winds evoked by those forecasts. The lines are reference to the rigging on boats or aerials sending out radio signals, the faint orange in the painting is the colour of buoys and lifejackets and there are also lighter areas depicting lamps shrouded in rain and crashing waves. I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre and phthalo turquoise, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using a variety of brushes and a silicon wedge. I have also applied charcoal and soft pastels to add a different textures and intensity. This painting is built up of many layers both applied and removed as part of the process.

Flotsam
Acrylic mixed media on board 55 cm x 55 cm
Flotsam is the debris found on and in the sea that often ends up on our beaches. It can be the result of shipwrecks or accidents and comprises the things not deliberately thrown overboard (jetsam) but also discarded or lost. Flotsam comprises all the plastics and litter that ends up in the sea and on our shorelines. I find washed-up flotsam intriguing, as each fragment and object has a story, posing the questions: Where did it originate? Who lost it? Where has it travelled? This abstract painting is in response to the colours, textures and forms of the discarded objects, rocks and pebbles that are found on the hightide line of a beach. I find the sun-bleached colours and wave blasted forms beautifully sculptural, they appear to me like small pieces of modern art. I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre, phthalo turquoise and magenta, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using different sized brushes and a silicon wedge. I have also applied deep intense patches of charcoal, as well as soft pastel lines and smudges to add a different texture and intensity. This painting is built up of layers which have been applied, removed and scratched into.

Burnt Island
Acrylic mixed media on board 87 cm x 62 cm (each painting)
Burnt Island is a small island linked at low tide to St Agnes, Isles of Scilly. It is covered in thrift and coarse grasses. To walk there you clamber over rocks, around rockpools containing colourful seaweed and small sea creatures. I recall walking over to Burnt Island as a child and being dazzled by the summer light and enchanted by this bleached and salty environment. I remember finding the clean white bones of long dead seabirds and brightly coloured fragments of nets and smoothed pieces of shattered plastic buoys. In this painting I try to capture the openness I felt on this rectangular island with the movement of birds swirling overhead, gliding invisibly against white summer clouds, and the waves of the sea edging the limits of this temporary promontory. I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre, burnt sienna and phthalo turquoise, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using different sized brushes and a silicon wedge. I have also applied deep intense patches of charcoal, as well as soft pastel lines and smudges to add different textures and intensity. This painting is built up of layers which have been applied and removed.

Lighthouse Dream
Acrylic mixed media on board 55 cm x 55 cm
This painting is based on a vivid dream I had. In the dream I was lying in a narrow canoe like boat at night and drifting towards the Bishop Rock Lighthouse. The Bishop Rock Lighthouse is situated on rocks at the most westerly point of the Isles of Scilly archipelago. I have taken boat trips out there, to the Western Rocks, where I felt the power of the Atlantic Ocean at the point where it deepens dramatically. I remember as a child staying with a family relative who lived in the end coastguard cottage on St Agnes and, at night, seeing the beams of light from the lighthouse through the bedroom window. I also remember the booming warning sound of the lighthouse's foghorn when visibility was poor. In this abstract painting I have tried to capture many different perspectives, incorporating shapes that depict boats, rocks, light beams and drifting fog. The scratches into the paint represent sea and sound waves; the oranges - rust, buoys and lifejackets; and the deep blue tones represent deep water, sleep and dreaming. I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre, phthalo turquoise and magenta, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using a variety of brushes and a silicon wedge. I have also applied charcoal and soft pastels to add a different texture and intensity. This painting is built up of layers which have been applied, removed and scratched into.

SHORE
mixed media on board 50cm x 50cm
SHORE is a work that is simultaneously a bird's eye view of a coastline and also a view into a rock pool. The patterning on a slate pebble and lines of rolling waves become one and the same, the mist of a breaking wave is also a cloud. I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre and primary yellow, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using different sized brushes and a silicon wedge. I have also applied charcoal and soft pastels to add a further texture and intensity.

Echo inside the Shell
Acrylic mixed media on board 55 cm x 55 cm
Did you, as a child, place shells to your ear to listen for the sound of the sea? I remember doing this. Having been brought up in the Midlands in the UK, I could not have been further from the coast, and I craved being by the sea. I remember placing a shell to my ear, listening intensely and imagining the sea, wind, rocks and the rich colours of shells; the rockpools, sand and wisps of clouds across summer skies; the call of seabirds and the salty air. This abstract painting aims to capture all of that; depicting the shapes, colours and forms of my memories, the abstract dreamworld that I inhabited as a child and a child's yearning to be in Cornwall. I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre, phthalo turquoise and magenta, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using different sized brushes and a silicon wedge. I have also applied deep intense patches of charcoal, as well as soft pastel lines and smudges to add a different texture and intensity. This painting is built up of layers which have been applied, removed and scratched into.

SUMMER AFTERNOON
Acrylic on paper. 19 cm x 14 cm
This small abstract painting is a depiction of a lazy summer afternoon. I wanted to capture through mark and colour the vividness of a mid-afternoon on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly. In this painting there are references to summer clouds and blue skies, the scent of the sea on a gentle breeze, high hedges of pittosporum and tamarisk, the oranges and yellow of gazania growing over a granite pebble wall and the turbulence of a song thrush flying past with a striped snail in its beak. I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre, primary red and yellow and phthalo turquoise, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using different sized brushes. I have also applied deep intense lines of charcoal.

DRAWN TO THE SURFACE
Acrylic mixed media on board in solid oak frame 84 cm x 59 cm
'...The menace and caress of wave that breaks on water, The distant rote in the granite teeth, And the wailing warning from approaching headland Are the all sea voices, and heaving groaner Rounded homewards, and the seagull: And under the oppression of the silent fog The tolling bell...' Dry Salvages T.S.Eliot I am huge fan of T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets. Four Quartets has inspired my artwork (choreography, film making and painting) over the years, and this piece is no exception. This painting is also inspired by the moments when I have stood on the edge of the ocean or indeed been on it in rough weather. These experiences being for me metaphors for life; we ride the surface of the waves of our lives and from time to time what we hold deep inside - memories and emotions, appear on the surface, drawn up from the depths of our being like objects drawn up from the seabed. I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre, burnt sienna, phthalo turquoise and magenta, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using different sized brushes and a silicon wedge. I have also applied deep intense patches of charcoal, as well as soft pastel lines and smudges to add different textures and intensity. This painting is built up of layers which have been applied and removed.

NIGHT DRIVE ALONG THE COAST
mixed media on board 50cm x 50cm
Have you ever driven along a cliff road at night and seen the moon glinting off the sea? This painting is inspired by doing just that. The location I had in mind was on Coast Road heading southwest, leaving Towan Cross towards Porthtowan, Cornwall. In this painting I try to capture the movement of the car, the pools of light from car headlights, a sense of time passing, the silvery blue of the moonlit sea and a view of the coastline fading into the distance. It is a painting that takes abstracted and multiple perspectives of this location. I have used a combination of acrylic paint, mixes of cerulean blue, burnt ochre, phthalo turquoise and magenta, as well as titanium white and mars black. The paint has been applied using different sized brushes and a silicon wedge. I have also applied deep intense patches of charcoal, as well as soft pastel lines and smudges to add a different texture and intensity. This painting is built up of layers which have been applied and remove.

Restronguet
Ink and watercolour 19 cm x 14 cm (Framed 33.5 cm x 28.5 cm)
Heading a couple of miles southeast from my home in Bissoe you come to a village called Devoran which is on Restronguet Creek. It was once the place where minerals from the mining in Cornwall were shipped out. Nearby are footpaths that lead along wooded areas surrounded by water at hightide and mudflats that are full of wading birds at low tide. You peer through the trees out over expansiveness of the creek. This small painting aims to capture all of this, the textured surface, creating streaks across the surface being a visual representation of the call of curlew. Prior to adding any marks or paint I applied gesso to create texture. The fine liner marks were made on location, and on return to my studio I then added watercolour paint, mixing a variety of colours as well as adding marks with grey illustration marker pens and biro.

Singing Wood
Ink and watercolour 24 cm x 19 cm (Framed 42.5 cm x 37 cm)
This painting depicts a walk I took through the woodland at Tremenheere Sculpture Park near Penzance in Cornwall. It is a very 'loose' piece in which I wanted to capture the energy of this particular spot of woodland, I especially wanted to visually interpret the rich birdsong I heard. The freedom in the ink marks and the ease of the paint application are my response to the echoing bird calls, sharp and shrill, that bounced off the tree trunks. Prior to adding any marks or paint I applied gesso and collaged on tape and paper to create texture. The fine liner marks were made on location, and on return to my studio I then added watercolour paint, mixing a variety of colours. I particularly like the way the watercolour reacts to the textured substrate. The whole process is very relaxed as the paint and ink is given its freedom, and the results can often surprise me.

Coral Trees
Watercolour mixed media 140 mm x 140 mm (Framed 300mm x 300 mm)
Plein air fine liner on watercolour paper prepared with gesso, with watercolour, posca pen and Ink pencils applied on my return to my studio. Cornish lanes, characterised by narrow, winding roads bordered by oaks, beeches and sycamore, their hues and shapes a terrestrial autumn coral reef. I felt that I was somewhere deep, like I was swimming under a canopy of tranquillity.

Copper Beech
Watercolour mixed media 110 mm x 230 mm (framed 260 mm x 385 mm)
Plein air fine liner on watercolour paper prepared with gesso, with watercolour, ink pencils and posca pen applied on my return to my studio. The copper beech holds onto its metallic leaves. Its leaves rusting in the autumn rain. In the light of an autumn afternoon, it has an auburn glow.

Edged with Fallen Leaves
Watercolour mixed media 140 mm x 140 mm (Framed 300mm x 300 mm)
Plein air fine liner lines on gesso and watercolour paper, with watercolour applied on return to my studio. This is part of a series of paintings developed out of quick sketches I made out in the Cornish countryside. The hidden away lanes are so quiet and are lined with ancient trees growing out of the walls, the roots, trunks and branches twisted into windswept sculptures and, in autumn, golden leaves line the edges of the lanes.

Soft Underfoot
Watercolour mixed media 110 mm x 230 mm (framed 260 mm x 385 mm)
Plein air fine liner on watercolour paper prepared with gesso, with watercolour, ink pencils and posca pen applied on my return to my studio. Walking along the lanes of Cornwall, especially those seldom used by vehicles, the ground is often soddened at this time of year. The scent of damp autumn is a rich and earthy aroma. The rain-soaked ground contains compounds released by fungi, trees and plants which are propelled into the moist air with impact of each step I take. I find this scent invigorating and rejuvenating, as it connects me to nature and the cyclical rhythms of the seasons.

Untitled

After a Short Shower
Watercolour mixed media 110 mm x 230 mm (framed 260 mm x 385 mm)
Plein air fine liner on watercolour paper prepared with gesso, with watercolour and posca pen applied on my return to my studio. Rain showers past quickly as the wind sped inland from the sea. The surface of the lane shimmered silver under the canopy of the trees. In this sketch, I tried to capture the sense of dampness, the moisture in the air and that wonderful autumn smell of damp leaves and tree bark.

Trees that cling to a Cornish Hedge
Watercolour mixed media 110 mm x 230 mm (framed 260 mm x 385 mm)
Plein air fine liner on paper prepared with gesso, with watercolour, posca pen applied on return to my studio. No wonder Cornish folklore is filled with the mystical and magical - when I walk along a country lane in Cornwall, I am always intrigued by the trees and their roots and the way they curl and twist and grasp and reach. They are like ancient mythical creatures. Trees planted in Cornish hedges help stabilize the structure by providing additional support through their root systems. The intertwining roots of trees contribute to the overall strength and longevity of the hedge.

Bracken and Puddles
Watercolour mixed media 110 mm x 230 mm (framed 260 mm x 385 mm)
Plein air fine liner on watercolour paper prepared with gesso, with watercolour, ink pencils and posca pen applied on my return to my studio. It is that time of year when the bracken dries to bronze and the lanes become watery mirrors reflecting dappled light. This free-flowing sketch tries to capture both the dampness and desiccation that autumn brings.