SHOWCASE Fine Art ColleCtor

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1 SHOWCASE 14 Fine Art Collector AUTUMN 2009

2 Freedom Boxed canvas edition of 95 Image 30" x 40" Boxed canvas 499 Framed boxed canvas 675 New to view Washington Green is well known for finding exciting talent. This season, we have four new artists joining us, each with their own distinctive and eye-catching style - adding new dimensions to our diverse portfolio BILL BATE BATE's striking and dramatic style evolved from his continuing fascination with the human form and the use of light and shade to give it excitement and mood. His figurative skills developed whilst he was studying for a Fine Arts Degree at Central School of Art and Design in London, where he graduated in "It was a great education as it introduced me to more abstract ideas as well as developing figurative skills. Although it was a difficult process at times, it encouraged me to experiment and I needed that. " Following graduation he continued to evolve as an artist, exhibiting in London and galleries throughout the UK. A great admirer of Caravaggio, Klimt, J W Waterhouse, Alma Tadema and Bacon, and with an interest in Rothko's mood and atmosphere, his work features the strength and beauty of the body surrounded by a cloudy aura. Bate's powerful début collection is inspired by his experiences on the coasts of Egypt and South Africa. "I've tried to achieve a balance between what the eye sees, the reality if you like, and contrast it with the excitement and freedom you feel in water," he says. Natural elements like the wind and sun also play a vital part in the overall composition. "When you're by the sea, the light is intensified and makes you focus on a particular part of the subject. Yet the areas in shade just merge into the atmosphere. It gives the body a blurred appearance but also one that is full of energy." AUTUMN 2009 Fine Art Collector 15

3 Lilac Time Image 26" x 34" Framed 575 Working at a studio in a converted warehouse in Wimbledon, London, which he shares with other artists, Bill starts a painting with an image in his mind of how he wants it to be, but after sketching the initial pose on the canvas the image develops and takes on its own path. taking reference from many sources including models, imagination and life all around him, he works from dark to light, laying on dark brown or blue washes as a ground, and building up from there whilst still wet. He works on a canvas for a few hours before leaving it to dry, working on two or three in this way and returning to them with fresh eyes. "I aim to achieve tight realism in parts of a painting whilst in other areas leaving it loose and less defi ned. this is to escape the confi nes that realism can impose and to be more expressive." LInDA CHARLES BORN IN THE South East of England, Linda's main artistic background is abstract work, with her interest sparked during her years studying textiles and fashion at Herriot Watt university in Scotland. She began designing work incorporating heavy texture using materials such as gold and silver leaf, with her use of colour at the time lending itself to the advent of the interior design boom of the early 2000s and her work starting to sell in large quantities worldwide. texture still pervades her paintings but over the last couple of years she has been working on concepts where she can combine an abstract feel with real life imagery. Her three brand new pieces for the new Autumn collection refl ects this approach beautifully. "the use of colour and texture create a sharp, abstract feel to one of my most idyllic settings a quiet, still, river backwater, hidden from the masses and discovered by a knowing few. A place where you can lose yourself in the tranquil surroundings isolated from the world and left alone with your thoughts." using light to create dramatic refl ections of colour in the still waters, the viewer is taken into the depth of the picture. mystery then surrounds the end of the river leaving what is round the corner through the dark opening unknown. "my aim is to take each viewer on a journey of feeling. through the gentle still water adorned with drag weed, past the great masses of bright colourful trees and bushes into the depth 16 Fine Art ColleCtor Autumn 2009

4 SHOWCASE of the image and the mystery that awaits." Linda lives with her partner Keith and their young son Charlie in a beautiful part of Hertfordshire surrounded by nature and rolling countryside, which provides inspiration for her work. "I take Doug, our Golden Retriever, for long walks to nearby Hatfi eld forest. It's a national trust site that was once the location of a hunting lodge used by Henry VIII, and the forest covers a large unspoilt area featuring a big lake and quiet backwaters. It s here that I am in my element using my sketchpad or taking photographs." Once back in the studio, she draws on the calm and tranquil feel of the forest and the lake, sketching out the scene of her work and marking areas where she wants to build texture for effect. She also incorporates vibrancy through uplifting colours to create intensity and excitement, enabling the piece to hover delicately between abstract and real life imagery. Jade Reflections Image 18" x 40" Framed 575 using LIGHt to CREAtE DRAmAtIC REFLECtIOnS OF COLOuR In the StILL WAtERS, the VIEWER IS taken IntO the DEPtH OF the PICtuRE. ADAm BARSBY AS A PROFES- SIONAL artist for the last 13 years, Adam's work is inspired by wonderfully happy childhood memories of family holidays by the English coast and an ongoing love affair with Cornwall. "I ve always been drawn to the sea, and when I'm not in Cornwall I think a lot about the last time I was. Its atmosphere and mood forms the backdrop to my work, and although I don t live by the sea, in many ways my work brings me closer to it." Born in Leicester to parents who were creative in their own right - his mother a hairdresser with strong visual ability and his father spending endless hours building models as a hobby - Adam began drawing at an early age and went on to graduate from the Kent Institute of Art and Design with a fi rst class honours degree. He turned professional in 1996 winning the Best up and Coming Artist title in 1999 and Best Selling Artist in the uk in 2000, and has The Rendezvous Image 20" x 20" Framed 350 Autumn 2009 Fine Art ColleCtor 17

5 SHOWCASE been nominated three times for Best Published Artist in 2001, 2002 and He has also lectured at several art colleges across the midlands. Infl uences in Adam's work come from C R W nevinson and Paul nash, whose work he studied and has admired since he was a student. "the artists' colony of St Ives in Cornwall has been a great infl uence too, and where I discovered the naïve work of Alfred Wallis." His passion and affection for the coast is delightfully evident in all his work and he relies on memories, sketches, photographs, seascape artists and even the television to inspire him. "Some days when it s wet and miserable it s just the best thing to close my eyes, think about where I d like to be standing right there and then, and begin to formulate a composition. " After originally working in a studio from nine to fi ve, Adam now works from home and with a more relaxed attitude, which he believes has helped him to create what is in his opinion his best work to date. "I paint when I want to and fi nd that I enjoy it a lot more. my work is not forced or pushed because I need to paint, but because I want to paint." Since his son was born, he has also moved from painting in one go to a slower and more considered pace. Although his work now takes longer to complete, he feels that it enables him to be more critical, which enhances the fi nished result. "Once I begin the painting I work as if building a jigsaw puzzle, starting in one area and completing that before moving on to the next. Over the following days the image takes shape, and sometimes I change the narrative elements that provide the story within the picture. Finally I like to live with the completed image for a day or two in case I want to make any changes." The Captain's Table Image 20" x 20" Framed 350 Ough Buck Boxed canvas Edition of 95 Image 30" x 45" Boxed canvas 550 Framed boxed canvas 735 KEn ORtOn BORN IN BIRMINGHAM and a graduate of Birmingham and manchester Colleges of Art, Ken taught art in Birmingham for six years before leaving for Spain, where he was in charge of the Joan miro Centro de Arte at the Baleares International School for 20 years. He moved to the usa in 1999 and now splits his time between new York's Catskill mountains and the Gulf Coast of Florida. "I have long been an America fanatic and I always wanted to live in the usa. I have travelled to almost every state and I am still enormously impressed by the sheer scale of the landscape and its tremendous diversity. the American landscape is inspirational and the country s paraphernalia such as old cars, old bars, and old guitars have found their way onto my canvases." As a child Ken was a frequent visitor to many galleries and museums, and remembers thinking "wow" the fi rst time he saw Ford maddox Brown s 'the Last of England'. He knew then that he wanted to be able to paint like that and get that same reaction from his viewers. He has certainly achieved his aim and has become a well-known artist, with collectors buying his work the world over. As well as winning a number of painting awards and several 'best of show' awards throughout the usa, he has also won the Washington Square Painting Prize - new York City's oldest art show - and regards it as a cherished honour to follow in the footsteps of the many notable artists who have won it before him. When Ken bought his house in the Catskills, he found case after case of pristine mason jars in the cellar. "I bought a few up into the kitchen and after studying them for some days I began to see that this was a quite remarkable subject. through painting glass I have exposed an endless path of discoveries. I can paint photorealist images, but also be more expressionistic whilst achieving what I believe to be powerful and engaging work of art." Ken rarely paints the objects "I HAVE WOn many PRIZES In the usa FOR my WORKS AnD RECEIVED many ACCOLADES But It'S An EnORmOuS JOY FOR me AnD A LIFELOnG DREAm FuLFILLED to SHOW my WORK In the LAnD OF my BIRtH" 18 Fine Art ColleCtor Autumn 2009

6 SECTION HEADING Pure Coffee Boxed canvas edition of 95 Image 30" x 30" Boxed canvas 399 Framed boxed canvas 525 independently, as "the raised lettering on the jars and bottles, by their prismatic nature, have an ability to capture tone and colour from one side of the composition and pull it to the other." Using many procedures that require drying and over-painting, he is invariably working on multiple paintings, consequently there might be weeks without a finished piece emerging from his studio and then a day when he puts the final touches to three of four works. His new collection is a particularly meaningful one for Ken as it is the first time he is exhibiting in the UK. "I have won many prizes in the USA for my works and received many accolades but it's an enormous joy for me and a lifelong dream fulfilled to show my work in the land of my birth. I am delighted to bring this new collection of work to the UK." IN FULL VIEW See more work from our new artists in the Gallery supplement on page 29 AUTUMN 2009 Fine Art Collector 19