The Shambles, York

Description

The Shambles York | Watercolour Limited edition Prints York – Alan Reed

Painting of York

York Prints for sale at Alan Reed Gallery in Ponteland

The Shambles Prints are a scene that is so typically English

The narrow streets looking into bright sunlight with people pressing through the Shambles in York creating long shadows.

To remove the figures from this watercolour of York Minster, the scene would loose it’s sense of scale. It would also look lifeless. Cityscapes are meant to look alive with a life blood of their own. Indeed people themselves are the heart of a city.

There are occasions when it is appropriate to omit figures from a street scene. But generally it’s best to arrange them accordingly to give the composition interest, scale, life and colour.

York Minster is quite clearly the backdrop to this busy street scene, it’s still an integral part of the painting.

This limited edition print of York Minster can be seen at my Studio and Gallery in Ponteland and is the natural partner to my print of the Shambles.

Larger sizes available please Contact

The Shambles York

Shambles is one of York’s most famous landmarks and one of the best-preserved medieval shopping streets in Europe. With its cobbled streets and overhanging buildings, it is believed to have been the inspiration behind Diagon Alley from the movie adaptation of the Harry Potter series. Although none of the original shop-fronts have survived from medieval times, some properties still have exterior wooden shelves, reminders of when cuts of meat were served from the open windows. The street was made narrow by design to keep the meat out of direct sunlight, but you can readily imagine the Shambles packed with people and awash with offal and discarded bones.

Today, the beautiful old buildings have been restored and now house cheerful cafés, quirky boutiques and even a coin & stamp dealer and the smells are rather more pleasant with aromas from the chocolate, fudge and sweet shops, clothes and accessories and gift shops.

York Prints and other Cityscapes available from Alan Reed.