A while back we featured Belgian artist Simonne De Visscher and her trip to Puzzlewood.
Closer to home, local artist Doug Eaton has also been inspired by the woods for many years. Doug grew up nearby in Coleford and trained as an artist in the late 1960s. He has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally and his work features in private collections all over the world.
Of his childhood years, Doug reminisces: “I've known about Puzzlewood all my life as I was brought up at High Nash. It was then owned by a man called Mostyn Watkins and there was an honesty box for donations back in the fifties and sixties. In my early teens I’d hire the tennis court at Weatherall, just over the road from Puzzlewood, for sixpence an hour. Me and my friends would play tennis and go into Puzzlewood afterwards. We always knocked on Mr Watkins’ door to get permission to go in. I'm sure I can remember my Aunty Win saying about some fairly wild parties that occurred way before I was born, although how much this was hearsay I don't know.”
Doug hasn’t visited for some years, but all of his paintings of Puzzlewood are based on photographs he took in the early seventies. His style of landscape painting verges on the abstract. He explores line, shape and colour and is particularly interested in the juxtaposition of soft against hard, dark against light. The scowles that give Puzzlewood its unique look provide plenty of inspiration and are an ideal subject to paint. Doug says: “Puzzlewood is a very special place for many reasons, but I think its importance to me is the industrial heritage of these Roman workings and the alteration of the landscape, nature reclaiming it and the creation of a new environment for wildlife and flora. It is a unique landscape for artists to ponder.”
Doug knows Puzzlewood from a time long before we took over. Whilst there may be many more visitors these days, Doug supports the way in which Puzzlewood has been carefully and sensitively developed. He says: “I think the amount of films in which Puzzlewood has featured only goes to show what a magical world it is – it’s no wonder people love visiting and that’s great news as far as I’m concerned.”
Doug, we hope you’ll come and visit Puzzlewood again one day!
