Lion's head Fountain

A lion's head fountain at the Sudbury Hall mansion in England

Medium: Oil on Canvas
SizeWidth: 24 inchesHeight: 36 inches

This 'water feature' caught my attention at Sudbury Hall.

This water feature fascinated me for a number of reasons. First it is pretty elaborate for a fountain. Second the geometric features in the brickwork. Third the weathering of the feature by nature - specifically the damp English climate which lays siege to anything outdoors. I thought it would make an interesting picture.

There is apparently a rule in painting that symmetry must be ignored. But I am attracted to symmetry and there is some in this picture. Here symmetry is the background to the picture but I tried to make it so that it does not dominate. In art there are really no rules, except when fools try and make them.

Sudbury Hall was built in 1613 and extended in 1665. This mansion, noted for its beautiful interiors, hosted visits from Queen Adelaide and was the home of the Vernon family from 1513 until 1967 when it passed into the possession of the National Trust