No. 20 Dianne Turner “Study of an individual stone on the walls of York” 2022 Watercolour
Artist’s note:
The stone I chose is on one of the buttresses outside the wall halfway between FPT and Tower 39 (on the corner of Fishergate and Paragon Street).
I was attracted to it because of the complex network of lines creating a map of time. The intrigue of the hole conjured thoughts of small creatures taking shelter within the history of the walls.
The stone watercolour was a very interesting project. The reasons behind the finished piece came from the flexible brief, which asked for an abstract study of an individual stone – this allowed creativity with texture and colour rather than trying to portray a true representation of the stone.
To contact Dianne Turner or see more of her work:
Email : diturner1@gmail.com
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/dibach123/
FoYW’s note:
Nearly all the stone the city walls are built of is magnesian limestone but it is very variable in appearance. Often it has many parallel lines of weakness or colour variation showing how it was laid down in layers in a shallow sea. These ‘bedding planes’ can be interrupted and change their angle as a result of changing water currents. Some stones also have a lot of random-seeming cracks which come from later pressures on the rock. While it was becoming stone, soaking with chemical solutions dissolved out holes or cracks which were sometimes left lined with crystal.
Using this image: The artist has the copyright for this work but has told us that they, like FoYW, are willing for this image of it to be used as if it was copyright-free providing the artist is credited and this is non-commercial use
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Posted February 2026 AF
