An artist whose pictures of the Norfolk Broads sell around the world has been forced to give up painting due to failing eyesight.
David Dane, 77, who has become renowned for evocative paintings of Broadland scenes, is hanging up his easel and paint brushes after 40 years.
From a winter afternoon at Hickling to wildlife at dawn on Ranworth Broad, his oil paintings have explored countless scenes, documenting the Broads throughout the seasons.
But the artist, who lives on the edge of Sutton Fen with his wife Julia and daughter Miranda, feels his poor eyesight means it is the right time to stop.
MORE: Norfolk masterpieces on display in Sir John Hurt Art Prize showHe said: “I never had particularly good sight but it has now deteriorated to a point where I find it virtually impossible to do the quality of work I used to. I’m not prepared to show paintings that are inferior.
“My work is somewhere between very atmospheric and detailed and when you paint sails of a mill or rigging on a yacht it has to be pretty accurate otherwise people will say it’s not right.”
Mr Dane moved from Kent to Norfolk as a child in 1949 and immediately fell in love with the Broads.
“I was just smitten with it straight away. I used to be awoken by this booming sound of this strange bird, the bittern, I’d never heard anything like it.” he recalled.
Leaving school at 15 he first worked at a furniture shop in Great Yarmouth before being able to combine his painting of the Broads with working at Hunter’s boatyard at Ludham and later as a skipper at Broads Tours in Wroxham.
He said: “I was doing it on a part-time basis for many years and I must admit looking back some of my early works were pretty dire. But people started helping and advising me and eventually I plucked up enough courage to start holding exhibitions.”
Exhibitions at the Assembly House, Norwich Theatre Royal and Mandells Gallery on Elm Hill were followed by a huge show as part of the Broads 2000 exhibition at Ranworth.
MORE: Nature-inspired artworks to go on show in WellsMany of his artworks were created at the heart of the Broads in a studio on an old converted lifeboat on Barton Broad.
But from this isolated spot prints of his work have sold around the world, and his originals have fetched between about £2,000 and £7,000.
“Much to my astonishment my pictures began selling in Canada, China, America, Australia, all over the world,” he said.
“One of my prints called Romantic Mill, which features three Hunter yachts and the sun coming up behind a mill, has sold in its tens of thousands all over the world.”
He plans to continue selling his work even though he will no longer be painting.
“I have had 40 years of a wonderful life and have been able to go out and spend so much time on the Broads exploring,” he said.
“I consider myself very fortunate. I’m 77 now and I feel it’s okay to hang up my brushes because I’ve achieved quite a lot.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here