Glowing for gold

Chris with paintings from his street-light series

A MOSSLEY artist is painting the tradtional glow of Britain yellow-orange street lighting - before they all fade away.

Chris Cyprus is an internationally-known artist based at Woodend Mill, Mossley. He has made it his mission to capture Britain’s traditional street lights in a “Northern Lights” project before the decades-old standard sodium lamps are replaced by whiter, more energy-efficient lighting in 2016.

Chris aims to put more than 100 of Britain’s older lights on canvas.

He said: “We probably all take for granted the hazy warm glow we’ve grown used to when walking home or driving the roads. I find the moment when day meets night and the streets light flicker on simply magical.” Chris will be exhibiting his work at his Woodend studio this weekend as part of the Woodend spring open day, during which many mill-based artists will open their studios (10am-5pm).

Chris has been fascinated by the glow from artificial lighting since he was a child.

“It started when I used to walk home from school in the winter and see the glow from a kitchen, inviting me to stare in.

“I’ve been continually struck since by the strange marriage between nature and man-made light.”