‘The glance’ (2013), oil on linen, 76 x 122 cm.

Art student John A. Walker wearing a black coat and a university scarf glances over his shoulder at Margaret Clark a fellow art student and future wife. The encounter takes place circa 1960 by the Great North Road to the north of Barras Bridge and the Haymarket bus station in Newcastle upon Tyne on a winter’s morning as commuters head towards the centre of the city. Mist and air pollution shroud the distant buildings which include, in the centre, St Thomas’s Church and, on the right, the Claremont Buildings.