An eventful ‘Walk in the Dales’ recorded by artist John Gilbey Bowles on 32 leaves of a hard backed black cloth A4 sketch book. Accompanied by friends Richard Fozard and his wife Daphne the captioned illustrations record the outing, each depicting all three figures ‘stop for a pint’, ‘to[o] drunk for walking’, mid day hangover’, ‘panic’, ‘Daphne forgets the tea bags’, ‘lost again’, ‘rain rain go away, ‘lost again’, ‘drenched near Richmond, ‘ another lecture on the small blue by Foz’, ‘sleep in the afternoon or dead drunk until 3pm’, ‘tea and cakes in Rosedale’ and ‘Hill Rolling’.
Each illustration is in a palette of predominantly brown pencil with the inclusion of a small rainbow somewhere within. The rear pastedown contains a full page multi colour illustration titled ‘Joy at the Rainbow Tree’ to finish off the tale.
John Gilbey Bowles was a distinguished British artist, born on April 13, 1929 in the picturesque village of Tansley, Derbyshire. He honed his artistic skills at the Gravesend School of Art from 1943 to 1948 before advancing to the prestigious Royal College of Art, where he studied from 1950 to 1953. He was awarded the British Institute Scholarship in Engraving cementing his place among the promising artists of his generation. Additionally, he was elected as an associate member of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers. Respected among his peers, Bowles formed close friendships with some of the most influential figures in the art world, including Henry Moore, Dick Fozzard, and L.S. Lowry.
Richard Fozard his travelling companion in A Walk in the Dales (1923-2000) was a painter and printmaker, a gifted artist whose work "celebrated the joys of a simpler lifestyle than many of us, today, will ever experience"
