Castle Combe, Wiltshire, England

The story of the drawing that took 42 years to complete!!!

In 1977 I started a (for me) very large drawing (78cm x 46cm) of the beautiful Cotswolds AONB listed village of Castle Combe in Wiltshire, England. The children loved this village, and we went there many times. I started the drawing in pencil by sketching the main component parts to ensure correct perspective. I then moved onto pen & ink, which, in 1977, meant using an old-fashioned nib and dipping it into a bottle of ink which I had taped to the drawing board!
The following year, along with the family, I moved to South Africa to work on the SASOL II construction project near Johannesburg. I was doing a little work on the Castle Combe picture when someone suggested I do a drawing of the construction site (different!). I spent the next couple of months on the commission and when it was finished, I accepted another three commissions, so the Castle Combe drawing was mothballed. In the meantime, a number of my work colleagues were asking if I had copies of the (unfinished) picture, so I found a printing company that produced 250 excellent copies at full size (see below).

From then on, I was kept busy doing commissions and, along with my full-time engineering job, there was never time for finishing the Castle Combe drawing and it was relegated to a cardboard tube in the cupboard. I had, however, sold over 150 prints !

(Fast forward about 36 years…….!!)
I relocated to sunny Malta in 2016 and set up my own art gallery in Birgu. It was there I rediscovered it in the cardboard tube and determined to finally complete the drawing! I always intended adding the trees that were there in the background as well as a sky, but never quite got around to doing it. A further 40 hours or so, of work, making a total of about 150 hours, and it was FINALLY completed!

Peter, in his gallery in Malta in 2019, finishing off his Castle Combe picture.

“(Sir,) I might go on, (and on) and make this picture so good, it will be good for nothing!!”

— John Constable RA

How the drawing compares to the Castle Combe of today.

Of course, strictly speaking it didn’t take 42 years of work, but the very fact the drawing survived that long is somewhat of a miracle. I lost many items, including original drawings during my various moves over the years so I was very pleased to find it in intact when my shipment arrived in Malta.

The comparison shown here in my drawing, from photographs taken in the mid-1970’s, to a photograph we took in the summer of 2022 shows, thankfully, how little things have changed over the years! Noticeable exceptions are the growth of the trees on the hill in the background as well as additional bushes and small trees in the church yard and the private gardens in the foreground.

If you have never been to the village of Castle Combe, be sure to include it on your ‘Bucket List’!!

Email: peter@ppjart.com

Year 2023, finally framed and hanging proudly on the wall!