44 Mark Rodgers – Painted Bridges

Mark is a traditional painter. Traditional in the sense that he paints ‘en plein air’ or in situ, outdoors, with easel, paint and brushes, open to the elements, stuck in the same place for hours and vulnerable to the interest and attention of passers by. Here Mark entertainingly recollects painting his landscapes of six of Hull’s River Bridges.

All text and paintings copyright Mark Rodgers and used with permission

“I had moved to Hull in 2008 from Manchester. My first painting in Hull was City Hall. Then I did the Maritime Museum. I ended up meeting a woman who owned a hairdresser’s salon. She bought some paintings off me and introduced me to her partner. When I met him he had a shotgun on his desk. I wondered what the hell I had walked into then.

Then he explained to me he owns a cartridge company – the Shotwell Tower. He gave me a tour and explained how lead was melted at the top of the tower and dropped like rain passing through a kind of sieve that is collected in a pool of water where the lead shot solidifies to make round balls. They are packaged into the cartridges for the game shooting sport. For me this is unethical to kill birds for sport, but I was commissioned to paint for him. I had already decided to paint that tower for some reason. I was drawn to the bridge. I never even knew there was a River Hull. I was fascinated by it. It explained to me why people refer to East Hull and West Hull, as though it’s Berlin or somewhere, I thought what the hell divided her? A wall? The Rugby? Then I realised…the river…a tributary to the Great Humber River. So I set about painting my first bridge. Two characters got interested in me. A prison officer on his way home from work who started chatting. I found out later he gave up his job and started a fine art course after meeting me. He introduced me to a guy called Bill, a fellow student who would turn out to become one of my closest friends in Hull. Also I asked a woman to stand in the painting gazing out across the river. Years later I met her at an art exhibition, and she too decided to become an artist after being in my painting. I started to become interested in the number of Hull’s bridges and their colours. I noticed Drypool had a paint job in 2017 to celebrate a mathematician.

I had developed the idea for my second Bridge Painting. Before that I did one painting from the roof of Shotwell Tower (I had to tie my easel to the railings it was very windy) and painted the view towards Sammy’s Point. Where the two rivers meet. Myton Bridge is included in that. Scale Lane Bridge hadn’t been built at that stage…”

“Approximately 2013 the bridge had just recently been opened. The first swing bridge that you can be on as a pedestrian while it swings as you no doubt know. I was artist in residence at St Mary’s Church, Lowgate. I had been paying attention to the construction of this new bridge for a couple of years or so, there was just a pillar for ages on a mud bank or something. Anyway when the big moment came for its grand opening there was an air of excitement. With the church being in such close proximity, it wouldn’t be much hassle for me to carry my easel and fairly large canvas – 32″ x 40” – and everything to a suitable spot to paint. The easel and stuff gets heavier as I get older.

The Arctic Corsair was still sort of beached up on the mud bank, so I thought I will create a composition that captures the old and the new, with the full span of the new bridge. In fact for some reason, the sleek black bridge reminded me of an electric violin. So I chose a spot on the ‘wasteland’ that was soon to be the car park for the new Premier Inn. There had been lots of ideas thrown around by the council to develop the riverside along there, casinos and everything, as part of a regeneration package after the demolition of Ranks Mill etc. so I started my painting. I love the reflections on the water and the old wooden pillars.

Anyway some ‘new’ wannabee artist appeared. I had vaguely met him before in the church.  He was nice enough and wanted to watch me. The painting takes hours, and I am not used to having somebody, a relative stranger, just hanging around trying to talk to me all the time. It breaks my concentration. I am used to random passers-by chatting briefly before moving on, but this guy was really annoying me, but I am glued to the spot. I couldn’t get rid of him. I was too polite to tell him to ‘jog on’. He was just curious. 

The big problem was when he thought I had finished, he was keen to help me pack up and help carry my stuff back to the church. He was kind of trying to push me, taking charge. One of the reasons I paint, is so I can be my own boss and more importantly enjoy the peace of ‘being there’ – like meditation my mind absorbs everything about a subject, the feeling of being at one with the cosmos and everything. The big part of being an artist is knowing when a painting is done. This bloke seemed to think just because there is no white canvas showing it must be finished. But I fine tune things and add bits. Plus, once I decide it’s finished, I enjoy the moment and savour the experience. But this bloke was really anxious I pack up. In the end I told him to “eff off…” he had pushed my patience to the limit. I didn’t care for his attitude at all, he was a pest. Anyway I just had a feeling there was a reason for me to just stand by my painting, almost like a tout, selling my wares or market trader or busker.

Then the magic moment came. The real point of this story. Two children seemed to be dancing on the periphery of my vision. I wanted to paint them crossing the bridge. I was waiting, the car park was still almost rubble. It was like they had just come out of the new hotel. Then I noticed the two adults. As one would expect, it’s a bit rough round there for two kids to be unsupervised. As they got nearer, I could hear them giggling, free spirits, their father was curious. The kids had run over to me to look at my painting. The parents naturally followed them. It’s nice when people admire my work. I started to chat with them, I asked him if he lives in Hull. He replied, “well actually we live in New York, and I haven’t been back here for 20 years or so…” He told me he is from Beverley. We got deeper into the conversation. I asked him what he did in NY. He said he was in the music business. Wow I replied. “Do you play an instrument?” I asked…”No” he replied. He said, “I write about music”. Then it struck me like a thunderbolt! In the library, the central library, I had noticed a poster advertising a guy doing a talk about music, the Manchester Music scene or something. His name suddenly came to me! Wow!! You must be Tony Fletcher I exclaimed, astonished. “Yes I am” he replied. He was very surprised I had heard about him. It felt like a good omen. I was almost his ‘unofficial’ welcome to the city, stood beside my easel with the painting of this new bridge, like a sign post. His name rang a bell in my head for another reason. 

When I asked him why he moved to USA he explained how much he loved R.E.M. then the thunderbolt struck me again, actually, I told him I do know who you are. I realised I had one of his books at home – ‘Remarks on R.E.M.’.  It was my definitive biography of R.E.M. and this guy was the author! I told him how much I loved R.E.M. ever since GREEN, my best mate at college called Stephen Green loved them too. So many memories flooded back. I told him I even saw R.E.M. play in Hull at the football stadium before I even moved to Hull. It was a magic moment. I wished him good luck with his talk at the library. I couldn’t wait to get home to look at my bookshelf to double check his credentials lol. I felt it made him feel good in front of his family to be so in awe of him. It must have been a big trip for him to bring his wife and kids to Hull for the first time in their lives, all the way across the Atlantic. I couldn’t help thinking that if that annoying bloke had made me pack up my gear and go back to the church with him, I would have missed out on such a beautiful moment. I just knew there was a special thing in the air.

So, pleased as punch. I packed up my paints and carried my canvas and easel back to the church. I knew I would have to deal with the guy who would be now bad mouthing me about how rude I am. It was a pleasure to meet Tony Fletcher. Since I have been to New York myself (in 1997) it made me think of my own time in the Big Apple. One of the circles is, I was only asked to be the artist in residence at St Mary’s after the reverend Paul Burkett saw my exhibition at Central Library.” 

“In 2014, bizarrely on the exact 100th anniversary of the start of World War One, I started my first ‘proper’ job since moving to Hull. I worked for Odlings Memorials, on Cleveland Street, for a year. It was the first real salaried job I had that employed me for my artistic skills – mainly sandblasting the names of the loved ones on crematorium tablets and plaques. Odlings is quite an historical place to work. On Heritage Open Days, people are invited to see how Stone Masons work today. It is in the heart of the industrial site that must have existed along the river Hull. The smell of the tannery always seemed omnipresent. Apparently, the sheds where we worked at one time were stables for police horses. I was living in Anlaby, and for those 12 months cycled to work.

I would cross North Bridge twice a day. It became the major link to my work place. On the odd occasion I could be a little late for work if the bridge was raised. I think that happened only once.

I enjoyed the cycle rides and the camaraderie of my workmates. It was a great job. However pretty much one year later, my job came to an end. I was a little frustrated, because I felt my full potential was never realised there, in terms of Art. Therefore, I decided in an almost vengeful way to show them what I was capable of! I decided to reboot my career as an artist. I had always admired the architecture of the bridge. The control room that operates its mechanical features seemed so grand and elegant.

So I set my easel up on the East side of the River Hull to paint the view looking towards town. It is a magnificent view. I didn’t really want to be still painting at the point where my former colleagues would pour out of work in their cars and their bicycles on their way home, so I worked fast.

In fact now I remember, I made an alliance with the local cafe – The Four Bridges on New Cleveland Street. It’s always good to have a local business that supports my needs while painting. They stored the painting overnight, so I could come back and carry on the next day. One figure that crossed the bridge – whose name ironically is Brigitta – a Polish lass, had left work (at Odlings) early. She was in my painting on a reluctant walk-on part. In a strange twist, I had heard whilst I was working there, that she put my portrait of her in the incinerator. Quite an act of violence. I had drawn pencil sketches of most of my colleagues, and over the years I have sketched hundreds of people and feel confident that my likenesses are pretty good. I have sold hundreds. It kind of hurt me that somebody would destroy my art like that so callously. I still have a photo of the portrait, and all of the others. There was a bittersweet feeling in my stomach, but I decided to not let that get in the way of finishing this painting.

The crowning moment came when the Four Bridges Cafe offered to exhibit some of my paintings on their walls there. My former colleagues would be able to see my work on display. The Hull Daily Mail did a little feature on the exhibition. By 2015 I had been in the local newspaper several times, so I was happy with the good press behind me. I then staged an exhibition in Food for Thought, the exhibition space in Central Library. The North Bridge was one of the central pieces along with my other recent paintings. That is where Andy Richardson saw it and bought it. I had known Andy since I opened my first pop up gallery in Princes Quay in 2009. In fact I now remember passing him on Drypool Bridge whilst I was in talks with the Managing Director of Shotwell Tower as far back as my first Bridge Painting. The next bridge I painted was the Millennium Footbridge in front of the Tidal Barrier.”

“Moving on to the City of Culture year, and the curtain raising event of the firework display where the River Hull meets the Humber, just off shore. I saw the opening spectacle, and was excited to be part of the City of Culture celebrations, since being on TV briefly when they announced it. I had even introduced myself to Martin Green, In the White Hart pub, where he was with an entourage of cast members. They were in a play about the refusal of King Charles II’s entrance into the city in 1642. I asked for some inside info. He told me the actor Mark Addy – very famous for his part in the great TV show Game of Thrones – was gonna star in the play. He was also known for his role in the Full Monty. I wanted to paint something spectacular for this special year, and to me the Tidal Barrier that protects the city from flooding is one of Hull’s most iconic buildings. I had already painted the Deep, so I was quite familiar with that part of the river. In 2010 I painted Hull’s yacht in the clipper race which apparently was refurbished as part of the Cat Zero project. So I set up my easel to paint this enormously impressive structure.

It was one of the first buildings I saw when I was first shown around Hull in 2004. Four years before eventually moving here. I was very pleased with the painting. The Deep let me keep my equipment there overnight.

At that point I was a loose member of Hull in Paint, a collective of local artists. We had a group show in Princes Quay which is where I sold the painting to a couple in Withernsea. I still regard that painting as one of my best. It captures the movement of traffic on Myton Bridge and the dynamic angle of Millennium Bridge.

One of the things I love about it a SAMSKIP shipping container truck is driving by. My son is called Sam, and my nickname for him was Kipper. My parents lived in a little village called INSKIP in Lancashire where I originally started painting outdoors in 1990. The main reason I moved to Hull from Manchester was to be closer to my son. To bridge the gap, so to speak.

It was a great coincidence that I found out the place where the Deep stands is called Sammy’s Point. And I discovered Henry Tudor’s chief military engineer was a man called John Rogers who designed the Citadel that used to protect The Port of Hull. I saw the blue plaque near the post office depot where you go to collect parcels near the river. It felt like all the stars were aligned when I painted the sentinel straddling over the River Hull, the gateway. The final part is coming up – the last bridge.”

“To conclude the story so far. I had been interested in painting that tall chimney, which I believed to be the old Reckitts site for several years. To me it’s a landmark that helps you locate where you are in Hull. In the skyline it can be seen around for many miles.

Along the ups and downs of my life in Hull, in 2023, I got quite a cushy job as a Beadle, for the Lord Mayor of Kingston upon Hull and Admiral of The Humber. My job was chauffeur and ‘body guard’. I had to dress the Lord Mayor in his or her robes, and put the chains on, and sleeves and gloves and hat. It was strange because when I opened my first pop up gallery in Princes Quay as I mentioned earlier, in 2009, I asked the Lord Mayor at the time to unofficially open my shop. There is a cheeky photo of me wearing her hat, little did I know I would end up working in the Guildhall looking after the Mayor – the City’s First Citizen. One of the great honours of the job was to carry the 700 year old Sword of State in a procession down the aisle of Hull Minster. The Lord Lieutenant at the time, Jim Dick, was actually in Westminster Abbey on the King’s Coronation Day. However, this service was held in the newly named Minster – the oldest brick built building that still fulfils its original purpose of its design. I painted it in 2012 when it was still Holy Trinity Church – the largest parish church. On coronation day the procession of navy and army personnel was led by the Lord Mayor Councillor Christine Randall on the Sunday. A big part of my job was to pick up the LM. & her consort -.her husband councillor Chris Randall. I was advised by the senior Beadle to take a short cut up Wincolmlee to beat the traffic to get to their house. I used to enjoy the drive up there past the site of Scott St Bridge famous for its Banksy. I went to see it the day after it appeared. It was a huge attraction. It also appeared on the front cover of Ten Foot City magazine. I used to marvel at the sights along the route. A year earlier I needed a new tyre for my own car, and had found a place right beside the chimney on the other side of the river. I found a location where the chimney was reflected in the river. It looked beautiful. Around there is a lot of decay, the massive Isis oil mill. So whilst driving the Mayor around in the civic car, the idea grew inside me to paint the chimney.

So one fine day, on my day off I painted the chimney, a relic of the industrial past. I am a huge fan of Lowry and the late steeplejack Fred Dibnah, so this painting was a nod to them where these tall towers once dominated the landscape. Railway Bridge is on the horizon. To me it marks the boundary of the city virtually. Maybe there is still Wilmington Bridge to paint, one day. After I painted The Station Inn on Beverley Rd. I realised that bridge was the other one for trains, which is now closed to traffic but is part of a cycle route. Then there is Chapman St. Bridge which is closed completely at the moment. I may one day paint that too.

As Philip Larkin once said, ‘it is by bridges we live’.”

Mark Rodgers 2025

For further information and commissions etc. please use the contact page to get in touch – https://openbridgeshull.com/contact/ – and we’ll forward your message to Mark.

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