The Paintings of Chris Macauley
The Project, River Lune.
Our neighbour Carole Roberts contacted us and asked if we knew that Chris Macauley had been on television. We paused. ‘You know’ she said, ‘The artist that had the exhibition in the Mission Church last year’. The penny dropped. We did remember. Landscape studies of the local area, mostly of the Point. Good, powerful images full of atmosphere.
Carole continued, ‘We had a message from his brother Simon to say Chris was on ‘Landscape Artist of the Year’ on the Sky Arts Channel. His submission for entering was - Winter Sun, Sunderland Point – the painting sold within 15 minutes of the show ending on the first airing’. She paused, we waited, Carole added ‘Maybe relevant for the website, I’ll send a copy of the painting’.
And here it is. It’s great.
Winter Sun, Sunderland Village.
Our eyes lit up – great paintings and Sunderland Point mentioned on the telly. We were on the case. We contacted Chris and his brother Simon asking for images of his wonderful paintings and some details about Chris.
Low Tide
They responded immediately. Chris told us that he is originally from Salford but during his teenage years he lived in Blackpool. For a lot of that time, he was cycling across the Fylde, over Wyre and into the Fells, sometimes getting as far as the South Lakes.
He said the region became very familiar, revealing itself as an extraordinarily beautiful and diverse landscape. After school Chris studied art at the then fantastic Blackpool and Fylde art school under the tuition of Nev Wakeling before continuing his studies in Newcastle.
Towards Sunderland Point
Chris’s recent interest in Sunderland Point came about when Simon retired from work and came to live in the area. He had been living in Edinburgh but did not want to return to Blackpool. Chris suggested Overton which is where Simon is now. Both Chris and Simon are very keen walkers and have great interest in the natural history of the whole area.
Chris told us this, ‘Sunderland Point is a unique place for many reasons. To be able to go wild swimming in such an obviously beautiful place and not encounter a soul is in itself unusual these days and the views, whether it's the Irish Sea at high tide or when it has almost disappeared over the horizon a few hours later, repopulated by grazing cows (this has got to be seen to be believed), or the Fells to the east, seen from houses that haven't changed since the early 20th century when artist William Wells painted them.’
Lune Estuary from Hall Grieves Hill
Soon after Chris had started working on paintings specific to our locality it was suggested he hold an exhibition in the Ship Hotel. Disappointingly, due to Covid that didn’t happen. A short time later he was introduced and welcomed to put on an exhibition at the Point in the Mission Church.
It took place during the last two weeks of August 2022; Simon was present every day in the old church greeting visitors and introducing the paintings - as well as keeping a watchful eye on the building.
Boat on the Marsh
Chris’s recent appearance on Sky Arts ‘Landscape Artist of the Year’ originated when they contacted him after seeing his painting ‘Winter Sun at Sunderland Point’ - which he had entered in the competition for places on the program. The image looks from the causeway towards the village as we saw in the image earlier. It sold almost immediately the show was aired.
From Sunderland Point
We then asked Chris what it was like taking part in the television program? he replied ‘The filming experience was interesting, everyone was very friendly and supportive, from the celebrities to camera crew. We had to be there by 6am, so it was a long day. The only drawback is that you cannot choose what you are painting or even the position/direction because of the camera set up. Lots of takes, so some of the sections in the edit could have been the third take, everyone pretending to be spontaneous, it was very amusing’
Chris Macauley in his studio
Chris, who now lives in Leicestershire, added a link to a French gallery that has a full description of his work including materials, dimensions and motivation/meaning of the paintings.
The Causeway, Incoming Tide.
The Mission Church Trust has several prints of Chris’s paintings available for sale, and thanks to his generosity half of the proceeds goes to the Charity. For any interest, please contact Carole Roberts at missionheritagecentre@gmail.com
Our grateful thanks to Chris Macauley for allowing us to use these images and his help with the text.