Fort Mason piers

Fort Mason No 13. 48" x 48". Mixed media on wood.

I started going to Fort Mason in 1996, a few months after arriving in the US. I wanted to see how I would fare as an artist so I signed up for a beginners painting class at the Fort Mason campus of San Francisco City College. I remember being stunned by the location right on the water’s edge – after having lived and worked in London for many years the freshness of the air was amazing. And having being involved in the architectural field for many years I was taken by the simple proportions of the utilitarian pier buildings. The colors also inspired me – who chose those two different Reds to use on the door openings? Did they know how, even when the paint is peeling, it would glow at sunset? These buildings never stop inspiring me! After a long gap, during which I have painted many other buildings and piers, I returned to Fort Mason to visit an art fair and saw the buildings again as if for the first time.
As you will see from the name of this painting I’ve just finished I have done thirteen paintings of the Fort Mason pier buildings so far, and that doesn’t count the really early works. Who knows when this will end?