12. Composition on Blue (‘Feel the Force’)

Stylistically ‘Feel the Force!’ harks back to classics such as ‘Look into My Eyes!’ and ‘Nice Clean Sheets’ with its use of bold colour, bordered and contrasted with strong blocks of black. It is a style that Fleydon finds both comfortable and emphatic

“For this work I wanted to get back to basics somewhat, to remove the imagery and, dare I say it, the intellectualism of more recent works. As an artist I am also somewhat of an angler – I have to hook my audience and play them like a fish. If they are biting I have to keep them hungry – I mustn’t overfeed them or they’ll loose interest. ‘Feel the Force was a direct appeal to those viewers that come along to the Cherry Red Records Fan’s Stadium Kingsmeadow not only to view my work, but to look at some of the football as well. I wanted to KISS them!”

Fleydon threw back his mane of dark, tightly curled hair and laughed at my surprise

“Not physically of course, although I would certainly make an exception in one or two cases. No sometimes I need to Keep It Simple for Supporters. It’s chicken broth art…”

Chicken broth it may be but Fleydon did risk alienating his audience with his outburst at the unveiling.

“In hindsight it was my fault but the canvas was the wrongs size. The players are mythic Titans striking the earth, literally causing the sparks to fly– they embody the unstoppable spirit of the club, an untamed primal force, lightening at the dawn of time. The tremors roll through the Tempest End and equate to the physical shaking as the crowd celebrate a goal. The trouble is that when hanging 'in situ' supporters obscure the key reference, the lightening flash. Instead it looked like two drunks leaning against each other, squashing little people. It upset me and I over-reacted. Pushing the crowd aside was not an appropriate response and I apologise for my actions.”

Those sadly injured in the ensuing panic and rush have since resolved their actions out of court and a level of equilibrium has once more restored to the terraces.

‘Feel The Force’ is still owned by the artist. It enjoys occasional hangings in the Tempest End(mainly during mid-week cup games) in the hope that one day it will be seen in it’s full glory.