Chanctonbury Moon
Chanctonbury Moon is part of my Under the Same Moon series and belongs to the Sussex Moons collection.
The South Downs were one of the first places my father took my sister and me after we arrived in England. He had grown up here, and we had never been before. Looking back, I realise he wasn't simply showing us the countryside; he was sharing the places that had shaped his own childhood. We flew kites, raced down the hills on toboggans and explored a landscape that couldn't have been more different from the one we had left behind in Zimbabwe. The wide chalk hills, ancient beech trees and endless skies made an enormous impression on me and became some of my earliest memories of England.
Many years later, during lockdown, I found myself returning to those same hills whenever I could. I remember those long walks vividly. We'd make breakfast, carry it up onto the Downs and spend hours outside. The moon was often already there in the morning sky, quietly accompanying us as the light changed, before becoming more and more present as dusk approached and we made our way home. In the middle of everything happening in the world, those simple days outdoors felt like an unexpected gift.
Chanctonbury Ring has always held a particular fascination for me. Its ancient beech trees, Iron Age hill fort and centuries of folklore give it an atmosphere unlike anywhere else on the Downs. History, landscape and imagination seem to sit comfortably alongside one another.
I've never been interested in painting the moon exactly as it appears. Instead, I wanted to paint the memory of those walks—the changing light, the immense skies and the quiet feeling of spending time in a landscape that has inspired people for generations.
Edition of 60 hand signed original prints. Optional framing available in the UK only.
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