I have always felt engaged by a good city study. And I had long ago made it the focus of my painting; enjoying my travel experiences and bringing home photos and sketches to work from back at the studio. But it wasn’t until I was invited to work on a big commercial project called England Originals that I was reminded of the unlimited possibilities to play explorer here in the UK. That commissioned work gave me a close look at 12 of the country’s heritage hotspots. I’m slowly, finally, making my return to these locations to build on those first introductions to each city… which included Oxford; ‘The City of dreaming spires’.

Of course it is very typical of me to attempt a grand gesture for this first self initiated piece of the new year. I no doubt should have narrowed many view down to a single building/tower/spire. But there I go… why not be ambitious and see where the painting leads? It turns out this one became as much a drawing as it is was a painting. The lines took over with the sheer number of spires, crenulations and flèches. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, just a different feel to how I imagined it diving in!

Timelapse: Building Spires

I built the composition from a host of references, each building out the bigger sweep of the rooftops and adding in further towers and spires. Below is my timelapse of the painting process. At least before the inking take-over!

And here is the final painting, completed on a 84 x 60cm thin profile canvas. It’s presented in a black floater frame with takes it to approximately 88 x 64cm.

An Oxford print has been requested a few times recently. So this one is already photographed and sent off to the printers. Hopefully it will arrive back next week. It will be available in two sizes as an A4 and A3 print. The original is available to buy and will be listed here in the studio shop and online in my Saatchi gallery. You can also have a go at this scene yourself! I created a colouring sheet with the initial line work that can be printed out for free.

As always, I love to hear your suggestions, so please get in touch with those interesting places you have discovered. I’d particularly like to hear from you should you have Oxford suggestions? If you’d like to find me online: https://linktr.ee/illustrationbyjonathan. And of course, if you are interested in commissioning a painting like ‘Oxford Rooftops’ please do check out my private commission guide.