Silent Field (acrylic painting)

The whole eleven seasons of Frasier seem to be on continuous repeat on Channel 4. You see the final series in which the main characters have visibly aged then suddenly the first series starts again and Frasier and Niles have got longer hair and fresher skin. Another series would have been filmed but high production costs curtailed things. Oh well. It's still good though and I've seen it so many times that I've started noticing ornaments on shelves and paintings on walls. In one episode Frasier and Niles are seated in a restaurant and I spotted a strange painting on the wall behind him. It's poor but for some reason I liked it. I decided to do my own version and here it is.

I did this painting in acrylics while watching a documentary but the paint didn't purchase onto the board (I'd sawn up some ply-board.) I had to coat the board in primer and leave it to dry overnight before I could start. The painting was easy to copy as it's simplistic and cartoony; an eight-year-old could have done it. However no matter how poor a painting seems it has merit if it does something to you. Isn't that what paintings are all about - if they massage your insides and make you feel something then that's what matters. I'm not sure why I liked this one - some kind of innocence I suppose.

I failed to make an exact copy as I couldn't find the painting on the internet and print it off. I had to pause Frasier, copy the screen and then zoom in on the painting losing much clarity. Here it is done quite quickly. I haven't got the colours quite right but they close enough for me. I'm not sure what I was copying - is it a building? If so what is a tree doing on the roof?

The bit in the foreground looks like a field but there're no birds or animals present so I called the painting Silent Field. Arty nonsense like this can sell for millions in an auction at Sotheby's but you can have this for £288,684.