The Secret Rehearsal

Gouache on mixed media paper. Completed 27/07/2024

In what they’re hoping will be a surprise performance, a theatre group sneaks to the top of the town’s dusty old clocktower, where they rehearse their play in secret.

This is an idea I had a couple of years ago, but never realised due to feeling unsure how to compose it, particularly the clock mechanism. I was inspired to try again when I visited the clockmakers’ exhibit in London’s Science Museum last month and saw the components up close. I think this one took me longer to sketch than to actually paint.⁣