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Dig on Down

Dig on Down

Regular price £40.00
Regular price Sale price £40.00
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Original/print/digital

Dig on Down is a painting about nature, history, archaeology, our place in the natural world and our relationship with horses.

  • A2 size signed poster prints
  • Digital file for you to make a print at a format and size of your choice

Dig on Down is a follow-up composition to a painting I made in 2018 entitled Buried Treasure, which considers themes of life, death, the value of things. It was partly inspired by BBC TV’s Detectorists, a series with big themes about the true value of things. Dig on Down continues these thoughts.

I have tried to show regeneration and the hope that Mother Nature gives us - so important right now - as well as how we think we have tamed the natural world. The pandemic proves that we have not tamed it - we are part of it - and we must respect and exist within it.

In Dig on Down, I have shown some archaeological treasures. On the centre right is an Anglo Saxon brooch from Faversham, Kent from about 555-650 AD. I chose a beautiful piece featuring a raven design. On the left is more Anglo Saxon treasure - a golden horse's head from the Staffordshire hoard and a buckle from Alton, Hampshire.

Horses and humans

When humans first tamed horses, 6,000 years ago it changed our history. Horses enabled humans to travel great distances at speed and transport heavy loads. Further down the painting I have illustrated the beautiful horses painted in French caves about 17,000 years old, a time well before we tamed horses. Great herds of wild horses roamed free across Europe providing food for the tiny human population which had not yet developed farming. As humans, we love the power and grace of horses, and the miracle of actually being able to control them - some people would say 'enslaved'. But we would do well to remember that without horses, human history would be very different indeed.

Colours of the earth

I have tried to use deep dark earthy colours throughout in a very limited range; umbers, ochres, and a magical deep purple. The central belt is the only place I have used green - to reflect the thin layer between the earth's crust and the troposphere in which all life exists.

The giraffey pattern on the tree expresses the tree bark and also references phloem and xylem, the tiny tubes that transport nutrients and fluids up and down a tree.

I hope you dig Dig on Down as much as I enjoyed painting it.

The original has been given to my daughter. Signed prints are available. The image on the print is exactly the same size as the original printed onto a sheet of A2. Order yours today!

Shipping and delivery

This website takes orders from UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Denmark, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

If you are not in these countries and you would like to make a purchase, please get in touch with me directly.

Posting your order

Typically, orders for physical products placed after 12pm on Friday, and on Saturday or Sunday will not be posted until Monday at the earliest. I use Royal Mail to dispatch your order.

If you have ordered multiple items, I will try to post everything together. Occasionally, this is not possible, in which case they will be dispatched in separate packages.

Digital files will typically be transferred to customers within 24 hours via email using WeTransfer, the file transfer website.

Buying an original painting? Please choose the tracked option!

UNITED KINGDOM (incl. Channel Islands, Isle of Man)

  • UK Royal Mail second class – 3 to 5 working days (can be longer at busy times of year)
  • UK Royal Mail tracked next day special delivery – next day by 1pm

If you choose a tracked delivery, I will be notified with your Royal Mail tracking number when your parcel has been dispatched.

INTERNATIONAL ORDERS

IMPORTANT! All international orders are shipped duties unpaid. Orders shipped outside of the UK may be subject to customs, taxes and duties. This cost is the responsibility of the customer and is payable on receipt of goods. Please check your local customs tax and duty costs as duties must be paid before the goods are released.

USA and CANADA
Royal Mail International Tracked service (7-14 days)

AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND
Royal Mail International Tracked service (7-14 days)

EUROPE (Rep of Ireland, France, Germany and Denmark only)
Royal Mail International Tracked service (7-14 days)

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