"The Clockmaker"

By Tony Troy (click for large view of The Clockmaker)

October 2005 , NAWCC BULLETIN 583

I got the idea for The Clockmaker while doing portraits outside the Portrait Gallery, down Charing Cross Road, in the heart of London. Opposite me was St. Martin's Church, while further down the road overlooking the Houses of Parliament was Big Ben. In the distance I could often hear the bell clock towers of St. Paul's and St. Mary's, while in Leicester Square behind me, a couple of clock towers would chime with modern mechanical- sounding chimes. Always at one o'clock it would take all the different clocks about five minutes to chime the hour. I presume that Big Ben was probably the most accurate. Its chimes have a commanding resonance that boldly say, "I'm precisely on time. You other clocks are early or late."

As for me, I was thrown out of art college at the interview. I was told, "You'll never be an artist!" After that I went on to study physics at London University, hence my interest in astronomy, time, and physics. After university, I became an accountant in a pinstriped suit, but failed miserably. "You will never be an accountant!" I was told, and so I became a portrait artist on the streets of London, where I remained for 20 years. It was there that I learned to draw to the standard you see in The Clock maker. A number of my portraits were eventually displayed by The Royal Society of Portrait Painters of Great Britain. Unfortunately, all the artists wore pinstriped suits as well, so I abandoned that enterprise and returned to the streets. It was there that I started to write stories about the many colorful street characters from whence The Flute Player's Song was born.

The Flute Player's Song is an original musical written by me about a young orphan girl, who after witnessing the death of her mother, sets out on a quest to discover if there really is a heaven. As far as the clockmaker fitting into the story, his song is sung three-quarters into the show by a street vendor who sells small clocks in a South London market, and concludes that in heaven there is no time. Later, when the girl freezes on the streets and awakens to find the magical dancing Fool (who alone hears the music of an invisible old flute player) holding a clock with no hands on it, she realizes she is in heaven.

Tony Troy may be contacted at tonyptroy@hotmail.com.

The original painting is on display at the NAWCC Library and Research Center. Hand-pulled giclee prints, reproduced In a numbered edition of 95, with 9 artist proofs:, all bear the artist's pencil signature. The image size is approx. 22-3/4 x 16-1/2 .Courtesy of www.lmagemakersart.com. Copyright Tony Troy.

Ken Muggli, Horologist

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