Brighton. The Goldstone Fine Art Print

There is something rather nice about a football ground that is near to the sea and the old Goldstone ground was a great example.

You may not be able to see the ocean, but you know it is there.  The salty air, the wind and of course the seagulls.

Indeed, Brighton and Hove Albion’s nickname is The Seagulls which replaced their previous tag, The Dolphins.  A smart move as there were not that many examples of the infraorder Cetacea regularly seen cavorting down the Old Shoreham Road.

Staying on fact’s marine, Gary Nelson made nearly 650 league appearances in his illustrious career most of which were for The Seagulls. Towards the end of his playing days, he wrote ‘Left Foot Forward’ which is one of the finest accounts of a footballer’s lot that has ever been penned.

As well as its coastline, Brighton and Hove had many fine public spaces and gardens, most of which were formally laid out and received constant care and attention from numerous greenkeepers.  Here lay the idea for the painting.  A quiet, off-season day at the old Goldstone with a chap atop a fine, old motor mower getting the ground prepared for the season ahead.  He is supported by a group of raucous, wheeling seagulls.  Perfect.