Biography

I came from a background in Ceramics, having obtained a B.A. Honours degree from Bristol Polytechnic in 1980. I then went on to do a P.G.C.E. in Art Education (gaining a Distinction) at Birmingham Polytechnic. From 1981 – 2008 I worked in education to become Head of Art in a large comprehensive school; tutor to an adult art group; a resident maker working as a mixed-media artist at Brewery Arts, Cirencester. I set up my own studio and left the teaching profession in 2008 to change direction and pursue a lifelong ambition to paint full-time.

Artist’s Statement

I am a contemporary painter placed within the English landscape tradition, where I find excitement and inspiration from the beauty and elemental nature of landscape: the earth, the sea, the sky. I am particularly drawn to open landscapes, moor land, valleys, salt marshes and tidal mudflats – quiet, remote places which evoke a sense of contemplation and solitude.

My paintings convey the interplay of my emotional response to things seen and experienced within landscape through the physical activity of painting, a form of internal dialogue of remembering, visualizing and interpreting. Photographs and drawings are used only to act as a transitional reminder of a sense of place as the paintings are developed to produce a distillation of light, atmosphere and mood.

The activity of painting is immensely important to me. I paint intuitively, building up surfaces initially with my hands working directly into the oil paint to create a suggestion of space and depth. Subsequent layers of transparent and opaque paint are poured and splattered onto the canvas, scrubbed back, re-worked, drawn and scored into, using palette knives and brushes to create marks and texture until the essence of landscape has emerged.

I enjoy working on a variety of scales from more intimate portrayals to larger expressive works and I frequently work on several canvasses at a time. I am influenced by the magnificent works by Turner but I also love the work of many other painters including Rothko, Jacob van Ruisdael, Edward Seago and Joan Eardley.

Links and Affiliates

Burford Art Gallery – www.burford.co.uk/ – Ongoing Representation and Exhibition
Kingfisher Art Gallery – www.kingfisherart.co.uk – Ongoing Representation and Exhibition
Creative Picture Framing – www.thepictureframers.co.uk – Local Framers
Steve Russell Studios Ltd. – www.steverussellstudios.com – Photography and Webdesign

Education

1977: Foundation Course in Art and Design, Sheffield City Polytechnic
1980: BA (Honours) 3D Design (Ceramics), Bristol Polytechnic
1981: PGCE in Art Education, Birmingham Polytechnic (Distinction)

Experience

1981 – 2008: Working in education to become Head of Art at a large comprehensive school; tutor to an Adult Art Group; joined Brewery Arts, Cirencester as a resident maker working as a mixed-media artist, whilst continuing full time teaching. Set up my own studio and left the teaching profession in 2008 to pursue a life long ambition to paint full-time.

Exhibition History (Mixed Media)

1998: Printmakers Art Exhibition – Gumstool Gallery, Tetbury, Gloucestershire
Brewery Arts – Touring Group Exhibition, Cirencencester, Gloucestershire
Black Swan Guild Gallery, Frome, Somerset
Walford Mill, Wimborne, Dorset
Easton Rooms, Rye, Sussex
Pallant House Gallery, Chichester
Pearoom Centre for the Arts, Sleaford, Lines
1999: Memories – Joint Exhibition, Cotswold Collection Museum, Northleach, Gloucestershire
Travellers Rest – Group Exhibition, Brewery Arts Theatre Gallery, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Gallery 21, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire
2000: A Sense of Place – Solo Exhibition, Brewery Arts, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Gallery 21, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire
The Thin Dog Gallery, Cirencester, GLoucestershire
2001: Brewery Arts Group Exhibition, St. Genis-Laval, France
Dexterity Gallery, Ambleside, Cumbria
The Thin Dog Gallery, Cirencester, GLoucestershire
Dexterity Gallery, Ambleside, Cumbria
Emergence – The Thin Dog Gallery, Cirencester, GLoucestershire
2002: X – Solo Exhibition, Brewery Arts Coffee House, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Back to the Beach – Selected Group Exhibition, Rufford Craft Centre, Newark, Nottinghamshire
Here Be Dragons – Selected Group Exhibition, The Beetroot Tree Gallery, Draycott, Derbyshire, 2002
NB Gallery, Trwobridge, Wiltshire
Selected Group Exhibition, Jelly Leg’d Chicken Arts Centre, Reading, Berkshire
2003: The Thin Dog Gallery, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Teasel House Gallery, Nailsworth, Gloucestershire
NB Gallery, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
2004: Summer Exhibition – Wonderwall Gallery, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
NB Gallery, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
A Celebration of Craft and Design – Waddesdon Manor, Aylesbury, Buckingshamshire
2005: Shoreline – Group Exhibition, NB Gallery, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
Ebb and Flow – Solo Exhibition, Brewery Arts Coffee House, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Cherish – Group Exhibition, NB Gallery, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
2006: Spectrum – Group Exhibition, NB Gallery, Trowbridge, WIltshire
Mosaic Commission – For Large Atrium Space, Cirencester Deer Park School, Cirencester, Gloucestershire
Designed and made two 6′ x 4′ Mosaic Panels for permanent display
2010: RWA Friends Autumn Exhibition – RWA, Bristol, Avon
2011: RWA Friends Selected but Hung Later Exhibition – RWA, Bristol, Avon