I packed up driving for a living after 20 years, early 1980s. I decided to try making a living from painting lorries instead of driving them. So, fast forward to 2016 when I’ve managed to make the living, with a bit more time on my hands I did a picture for Coll - of us on a similar trip we had, four drops – for Chard Junction, Moretonhampstead, Tavistock and Croyde Bay, but a more modern version. A bit fanciful you might say but the road and its memories won’t let me go. Loaded with plasterboards we were on our way to our third drop, down to a school at Tavistock needing a refurb. In the painting the lorry is a Hino 700 which I rate as a looker, a good working lorry, a bit like an Atki. - stylish but no frills!

When I was on the Long Distance, Colleen my wife sometimes came on trips with me, but not that often. The painting “Windwhistle”, below was made in 2013, using Flashe Vinyl paints, and matted behind glass, inside a Hemlock frame. It shows us two on one of those journeys. We are going by the fog bound Windwhistle Pub, late July, on the old A30 between Crewkerne and Chard, in Somerset. The road is no longer open to Lorries. We did a lot of work to the West of England, often along the A30 or A303. Rochester to Honiton was a day’s work. You knew all about it at the end of the day, especially in the summer! Four drops of Gyproc Plasterboard in Devon and Cornwall, plus return load, took all week. Harder work, slower pace.

I used a more recent photo of Merrivale Bridge. The road there hasn’t changed much from the new by-pass days. Instead of the white Atkinson, a more modern (2010) light blue Hino 700 was put in. So, the Lorry colour is in my “Sunbeam Blue”. The Sky and Background colours follow the lorry’s livery, either to enhance it, or as a contrast to set it off. A few details to note for the lorry- it has the same fleet no. and reg. no. as the best one of the Atkinsons I drove there. An Atkinson style ribbon with the Knight of the Road Emblem on the front, some red lining out, Chevron bumper, New Zealand Style mirrors, and, well, it has to be ropes and sheets, of course! The Header board has the plain Arnold’s style Signwriting. Coll and me are in the cab, as we are nowadays, a couple of old fogeys!

MERRIVALE BRIDGE DARTMOOR

Memories of 50 years ago- coming down to Merrivale Bridge, Dartmoor, not in a Hino, but an Atkinson. We’d delivered to Unigate at Chard Junction, and to MoretonHampstead. We were on our way to our next drop at Tavistock. I often wish we could do those few delivery trips we had together all over again. It’s not to be, so this is the only way to make it happen – a PAINTING! – but us two as we are today, and with a modern take on the old Atki. 

"A Painting is the most beautiful of Lies" - Kees van Dongen Painter 1877-1968

The very first lorry pic was made early '60s. The title was - “Night Trunker” - based on a Silver Roadways AEC, though you'd never guess!

1985 - 2007: So to try and get some work we made up our own purpose built collapsible walk-in stand to house a fixed display of a dozen pictures, and keep them and the visitors dry. Nothing to sell, just hopefully to get some orders for Paintings. The front cloth sign outside said "ROADSCAPES - scenes of the road." And that name has stuck. To use my own name seems a bit over the top, so I try to stay incognito. Just alan/roadscapes will do. Fly low, fly long sort of thing. I don’t want to be anybody special. Nowadays the sign has changed to "Jobbing Painter/ Picture Framer". It's on the front wall of our Paint Shop and the old sign is on the wall inside. Before we started up I don't think there was such a thing as ROADSCAPES or anyone painting road haulage scenes for a full time living and travelling a show round to get the work, for that matter. I never saw them anyway. So maybe that's in our favour if nothing else but I certainly had a fair few insults from art dealers. Not that that bothered me, a lorry driving third class citizen who morphed into a tenth rate artist! You get thick skinned, and anyway, I'm no competitor and couldn't care less who comes first or last! What really spurred me on to start with was a letter from Chasey, the Boss at Arnolds, wishing us the Best of Luck. And a good compliment was from Brian Owen of Ivor Owen Haulage at Wrexham, who brought his family to see our pics at Leyland, with - "You're a real Craftsman, Al."-

Our first rally was in May 1985. We went to local country fairs and Transport Shows for a few months. Several people said - the paintings are too sketchy - or - too big, we only live in a council flat - was another one. Well, as the customer is always right I worked to a smaller scale with more careful detailing, but sticking to the principles of picture making. We had a bit of interest here and there that Summer, but not much. I thought about going back on the Road, not on the long distance General Haulage, instead with a local haulier who wanted a Driver for his 8 wheeled ERF Tipper, home every night touch, but for one last ditch attempt we tried for a bit further afield. We went to the Great Dorset Steam Fair, followed by the Leyland Lancashire Autumn Rally. And that’s when it really took off!

We travelled the gallery all over the UK, each weekend, April till October at first, then after a few years narrowed it down to half a dozen really good shows where we always got work - mainly to the North, or West, where the main interest seemed to be and folk were dead keen. One Scammell Highwayman operator from Manchester said of our stand - I wouldn't be seen dead in an Art Gallery, but I love coming in here! - Orders for paintings of Waggons came rolling in. Sometimes you'd be lucky enough to get a photo to go on, like black and white from the wrong angle! Sometimes just a description over the phone, with no photo. But 20 years on the road stood me in good stead. I knew Roads and the history well enough - where the trunk roads, side roads, short cuts, went - which Lorries would travel where - what sort of Loads - Ropes and Sheets - long gone Transport Cafes - Landmarks etc. I didn’t want to do “Streetscapes” more than that, because on the Journey work you are watching the miles go by, not sitting beneath some Town Hall clock! It’s beautiful landscapes, stunning Skies, in all weathers, all year round, by night and by day - all the way! I'd learnt the Skill of the Haulage Driver from people who were Perfectionists, with a capital P, and the patience and care to do a job properly, which stood me in more good stead for the Painting work!

We went with the show for over 20 years, but by 2007 we had made a go of things, and so we finished up with the rallies. I just knuckled down at home, getting on with the painting. Each year at Midsummer we'd have our own display of pics., with visitors from as far away as Australia. Xmas time I'd deliver paintings, prints, calendars and cards far and wide.

ROADSCAPES - scenes of the road

1983 - 1984: To start with I painted a dozen or more Lorry scenes, framed them and we took them around to different Galleries, who weren't so keen. One dealer said - why not put a gun dog in the cab to liven things up a bit?- I said to Coll - I think we're wasting our time here! - Which we were. Coll, who is the Brains behind it all, said - why not take our own gallery around to the shows? - Before we give up. We had visited country shows with their own Craft tent, where folk hired a table top to display and sell whatever it was they made.

Looking back it was a hard living to make but a real pleasure to do. It was a bit of a production line, often working with 30 -40 commissions ahead, to deliver on trips, or at rallies. I always said to folk - As long as you can bear with me for time - and everyone did. Travelling about led to more orders, and word of mouth, etc. - so it was always the Jobbing Painter. No Mega Bucks. No Merchant King's. Just enough to pay the bills if you could live the healthy life. We never stitched anyone up, following the Benedictine Monks way of making good quality work, and priced below the going rate. The bonus was the Fantastic people you met - mostly Drivers, Transport folk and their families. Many of them became life long friends. One or two I have never even met, but I know enough about them to recognise Genuine people! Even several Artists, Art Teachers and Students gave us the thumbs up, which made you feel you were doing the right thing after all. Geoff Taylor, Artist, fantastic Colourist, Technician, Fantasy Illustrator, Wildlife Painter said I was - a bit of a Technician - which is real praise. The bit I remember most, and often smile about it, was the difference between a haughty old girl at a Stourpaine Dorset Steam Fair who said something like – How Disgusting. Paintings of Lorries, whatever next! – she almost spat that out at me; and another group of Elderly Ladies at Leyland the following week, studying the pics. carefully with - That one had the Gardner engine, and that one was on a night trunk to London –

It was all commissioned artwork we had, mainly British scenes, a few from away. Approx. 700 Paintings in all, up till 2004 and our first book.

(By now, 2024, the grand total would be nearer to 1100).

Plenty of 7- day weeks, as the hourly rate was zilch most of the time, but I'd sooner do the long hours than the chase-about. The customers always gave me time to do the work. I paced myself. I learned to avoid the very big companies like the plague, who were Hopeless when it came to the readies, with all their usual tricks like losing our invoice, so carefully typed out by Colleen Mary! Run by accountants rather than Transport people. Or "Logistics" nowadays!

The shows we went to were like family holidays. Our kids saw a bit of the country all right and still remember the trips fondly. There was a big following in Scotland - Lorries with lovely colourful liveries, Tartans and Thistles and all of that, and perfect settings for the background. Duncan Robertson from Patna was our very first mail order customer in 1988. He became a best friend, and ordered several paintings, like many others, such as Billy McCallie from Kirkcudbright, who had 23 original paintings, Stewart Robertson from Perth, Ian Taylor from Paisley, Scott Low from Bathgate, Davy Angus from Dyce, Drew Scott in Dundee. - just some of those who helped the Roadscapes production line from Scotland.

"Monarch of the Glen"

Coll, at Old Cilgwyn.

Bertie the Berlingo, our last Roadscapes van.

“English Road A74” Mean Ge-reen Maudslay Meritor Machine, from D.M.Smith, of Wishaw. What a Stylish Lorry. “O” type Bedford following. Heading South on what the Scotsmen used to call the English Road. In the painting I made sure the mixed load had a Barrel Hitch in the roping up, but you wouldn't be seeing it at this scale. I never drove a Maudslay - wish I had really. Like a modern day Scania! Although I drove a couple of "O" type Bedford tippers, working on the new Cullompton By-Pass, among other jobs, back in the 60s. I don't think they'd hold a candle to the Maudslay, but of the same 1940/50s era.

“Paddy’s Milestone” Ostwald’s of Ayr AEC on the A77, near Girvan. Most of our loads on the General Haulage were hand-balled on and off. Ropes and Sheets: in the winter the Ropes froze into what were like coils of wire. The Sheets (Haps in Bonny Scotland) became like thick cardboard. With rope burns in your fingers from tying all the Dollies as the salt off the road (when they started salting the roads) would get into the ropes and in turn get into the rope burns on your fingers. Great times though?? Definitely!!

“A Dream on 6 wheels” Scottish Albion from J G Barrack, Aberdeen, on its way home, near Otterburn. With the chrome Aitken's Panther on the radiator grille. It was painted for the late Great Albion Jack, from Littleborough. He chose the title and he will be featured on our Roadside bit very soon.

2008 - 2024 "High Voltage": below - made back in about 2008. It's a semi Abstract picture really, of an 8 wheeled Scania mixer lorry, set in the West of Ireland, on a stormy night. I painted it back home, while a Johnny and the Hurricanes record was playing, called - "High Voltage"- hence the name. To fit the bill. The titles to me are important. Part of the Picture. I rate Abstract/Semi Abstract Art. What used to be called Modern Art, from say 1890-1950, is what I learnt from. How to put colours together. Some famous Painter, can't remember who, said the difference between Painting and Drawing is - Painting uses Colour - which is obvious really, and I think it was Paul Klee who said that to Paint well was simply to put the right colour in the right place. Which is what I try to do. To get the Melody! It's no big deal. Colour combinations and Contrasts, with some drawing added if you want to. Sometimes two or more pictures in one, kind of thing. As with a picture called "Jamaica Inn" (in our Gallery section), which basically is a colour Painting for the main, but the bottom left hand passage is an Abstract black and white Drawing. To me it's much more of a craft than an art.

Fast forward to 2024. Panic Stations! Eyesight getting worse. Shaky hand. Can't remember what happened this morning, let alone yesterday! Not ideal for this sort of thing. And Coll not been too well. I'm thinking - time to pack up, can't do this work no more! - It was/is very hard to let go of this way of life. But let go I did. No more commissions.

The final lorry painting was “Y Cymro”/ “The Welshman” Painted in Lascaux Acrylics and finished on 27th January, 2024. 81 hours it took. It would have been a 40 hour job years ago. One of O.J.Jones' Renault 8-wheeled Tippers, from North Wales. What an amazing livery. When first I saw this waggon on the road there was a double rainbow in the sky. Just imagine that. But not much background otherwise, so the scene was set at Dolwyddelan, A470, Traws Cymru/Across Wales, North to South route, heading North. Minus the rainbow, but plus the 13th Century Castle - to set off that rather Stylish Haulier from Porthmadog ! Class Cruiser or what!

ROADSCAPES - for the future

I’d like to try another Dee Valley Transport scene- maybe of their Chinese Six (Twin Steer) Foden, called "Llewelyn". Or a re-vamp of the "Maid of Llangollen", but semi Abstract style. They had a beautiful, immaculate fleet of lorries. It is said the Drivers never got paid until they washed the lorries down at the weekend! They were sign-painted by Cyril Moss of Warrington or Den Jones from Llynclys, in a fantastic livery of Post Office Red, touch of Black for the unders, Gold Leaf and Chrome for the finishers. You certainly saw them coming, and if you didn't then you'd probably get a blast from their Air Horns! Which nobody else had then.

There's one needing some alters - "Day's end". Foden cab interior scene. Framed in Chestnut wood. There's another one of my Tramp paintings -"A1 Light- Supertramp". Set on the old A1 London to Edinburgh Great North Road, back in the '60s. A few finishing touches needed yet. To be framed in a bit of Plum Wood from our Garden..

Apart from that, Olly our Son (Olly Boy) is keeping this website going, as and when he can. Two Roadside items to come up soon I am hoping - S. Clark from Anerley, and Ivor Owen from Wrexham.

Olly Boy and Coll at Stonehenge about 2003

“Roundabouts and Swings”. On the go right now - not a Lorry painting, but definitely a Roadscape – I recognise it! An illustration for a poem written in 1912, of a Travelling Showman, with his Vardo s, on his way to another Fair. He meets a roadside Traveller who asks him how things are doing. The Showman answers – What’s lost upon the Roundabouts we pulls up on the Swings - It was in a book of poems from the 20s, with illustrations for some of them by Harry Clarke (1889-1931), Dublin Stain Glass artist, the most fantastic Colourist, Technician, Artist I’ve ever seen, anyway. He didn’t do one for this poem. Maybe not quite up his street. But it’s right up mine. It won’t be anywhere near as good as his work, I don’t suppose. But we can give it a go. A bit of a challenge, what with all the Decoration and Detailing. It will take a couple of hundred hours at the least. Fingers X-ed I can do it!

Picture of Rachael (Little Ray), 2o25, our Daughter. Main Art Critic. It is a Family thing! The painting is started. She’s giving me the evil eye that says- M.A.N. (more alterations necessary) !

So, that's about it. Thanks for taking an interest if you haven't dozed off by now! We'll try to get these ones done, together with some landscapes, and Garden Paintings. I'm not the world's Greatest Gardener, but what's not to love about Flowers? Tending these plants keeps you fit and healthy - well it does in our garden, what with all the stony steps! And these magical flowers give you a bit, lot, of a booster when they come out. A pal in Scotland, Scott, former 8 wheeler Driver, says he could sit all day and study the sheer beauty of a Flower. Me too, exactly that. Perfect for a Painting. Pretty Flowers - they don't hurt anyone - unlike some murderous devils in this sad old world. This time we've got chapter and verse on it all, with their damned wars, blowing women and kiddies, families to bits, like little Hind Rajab, aged 6, in Palestine. 6 years old, I ask you - so heart breaking when you read the full account. What in all the world and hereafter did she ever do to deserve that, for god's sake?

Anyway, it's Goodbye -"Hwyl Fawr", as they/we say here in Wales.

Farewell and Care Well.

Check the Paintings gallery - with ongoing changes. The opening Gallery pic “Ffordd Yr Arfordir”/ Coastal Road is from way back, when we only managed to get a few of them photographed. Painted in 1989 for old established (1898) Long Distance Hauliers, still going strong, in Sir Benfro/Pembrokeshire, and still sometimes using ropes and sheets. The Proper Job! Good for them. Most of the gallery pics. are more recent, from about 2003, when we started putting them onto disc. Olly will update the Roadside section as we go, so keep a lookout for that... and If I can do another 40 years, plus a bit of Picture Framing for Pals, it will keep me going. (I'll be 120 then). 

I may not be able to keep you posted ! !

Crimea by Daddy Kool