A project to promote the Chichester and Bognor Regis Branch of the MS Society

Clive McBain

When it comes to paintings that typify the beauty that surrounds us in every day life living in West Sussex, you would be hard pressed to find an artist that does this as exactingly as Clive McBain. This spectacularly detailed painting has the ability to focus the attention on the minutia and tease out every detail. Its vivid colours and precise aesthetic description is typical of much of his wonderful work, exposing the blatant things that are hidden from us everyday, because our eyes are used to glazing over the wonder of life.

Clive paints mainly in acrylics using a combination of colour wash over delicate sponge producing incredible accuracy, which he attributes to his early training in graphic art. Clive McBain has been commissioned for work as far afield as South Africa, Australia, USA, Chile and Europe. His work has been featured on Meridian Television, in Readers Digest, Sussex Life and extensively in the Sussex Press. Clive has exhibited in London, Arundel, Worthing, Chichester and Guildford.

To visit Clive McBain's website and see more of his wonderful work click here.

Fingerposts

These iconic signposts are one of the gems that enrich our beautiful countryside. We see them every day and just take them for granted. They are integral to our rural identity and the world-famous image of England that people all over the world envisage and come to see. Imagine a countryside full of the obtrusive modern signposts? Enough said about that I think. However, many are threatened by neglect and decay and we really need to conserve these wonderful aspects of our heritage.

Traditionally they are called “ fingerposts”, I am guessing related to the slender fingers that guide you gently on your way. Found in a wide variety of distinct regional and local designs, the oldest fingerpost, found in the Cotswolds, dates from 1699! They were used widely in the 1740s by turnpike trusts who were encouraged to mark every mile, and became compulsory to help stagecoach and mail services in 1766, later requiring the distance to places in addition to direction.

In 1921 recommendations were made that standard 2.5 inch black upper case lettering on a white background be used and that the name of the authority responsible should also be incorporated. However, local models around the country vary substantially in design, some with white lettering on a red background and finials of various shapes including discs, rings, balls and pyramids.

You can view another of Clive McBain's great paintings, The Pevensey Windpump on our website.

Chichester and Bognor Regis Branch of the MS Society

From the perspective of LandMarkS it demonstrates the fact that Chichester and Bognor Regis Branch of the Multiple Sclerosis Society reaches out much further than our branch name suggests. We support people over a huge area of West Sussex shown by the names on this fingerpost including: Petworth, Midhurst, Byworth, Fittleworth and Sutton. Take a look at the map of our branches remit to view the other areas that we cover.

If you like this splendid painting by Clive McBain of a WSCC Petworth Fingerpost and would like to see it in exhibition please book mark this page and keep coming back to the site. We will be updating these pages regularly and will be adding information about where work will be exhibited in the future. We will also be putting up details of the auction where this work will be sold to raise money for the branch.

If you are interested in buying the work, please register your interest with Fundraiser Aidan Maxwell either by phone on 07751526820 or by email by clicking on Aidan Maxwell.

The first exhibition of work donated as part of the LandMarkS project was exhibited at the Summer Rose Lunch at Lavant House.

If you would like to view more work done for the LandMarkS project why not visit the View the work & Meet the Artists page.

If you would like to exhibit work from the LandMarkS project in your gallery, donate a piece of work to the LandMarkS project, or support it in any other way, please contact the Fundraiser Aidan Maxwell either by phone on 07751526820 or by email by clicking on Aidan Maxwell.

The Multiple Sclerosis Society