Pendle Hill is getting more than its fair share of attention in 2012 and one artist plans to turn the landmark into a series of oils
Our fascination with Pendle Hill is even more intense this year as 2012 marks the 400th anniversary of Britain’s most famous trial for witchcraft. Ten men and women were found guilty and hanged, creating a gruseome legend that has endured through the centuries.
But there is more to our famous landmark than the dark arts. Bowland artist Ramsay Gibb describes it as ‘our own Ayres Rock’ - a Lancastrian version of Australia’s iconic landmark.
He has painted it several times and you can tell by the drama he captures on the canvas, pictured above, that it was a task he relished.
Another of his pictures, Winter Silence, inset right, was snapped up recently at the Francis Kyle Gallery in London’s West End, a venue which regularly shows his work. You can see more at www.ramsaygibb.co.uk.Ramsay is more interested in things spiritual than the supernatural.
‘Pendle Hill featured for its connections to George Fox, the founder of the Quakers,’ said the artist, who is based in Slaidburn. ‘To many outside the region and internationally, Pendle Hill is famous for this association, a fact that surprises many locals.
‘The study centre for Quakers in Pennsylvania is called Pendle Hill.’Ramsay, who lives in Newton-in-Bowland and studied art in Bolton, plans to produce a small series of paintings focusing on the events associated with Pendle Hill with a view to staging a show during 2012. His timing couldn’t be better.
The print version of this article appeared in the February 2012 issue of Lancashire Life
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