Studied at Portsmouth Art College and Brighton Faculty of Art and Design, UK, although tuition was virtually non-existent – so effectively self-taught. Lived, worked and exhibited in Brighton, London, Devon, Dorset, Lewes and Sheffield. Currently lives and works in Brighton.
The majority of work references the landscape, or is at least inspired by it. Some work relates to the value and meaning we place on life; or focuses on injustice and politics, including the way we treat the planet and each other.
Some of the paintings are quite austere, structured around a straight horizon. Interest is created in the application of colour and texture, to produce a thoughtful piece with layers and depth: the power of simplicity – the strength in reducing composition to the essentials. “Ornament is crime”, as the architect Adolf Loos said. Or, as we may say today, a little more colloquially: cut the crap.
A variety of techniques are employed, to suit the subject of the painting. Methods of application include palette knives, sponges, sprays, rags, paper edges and painting directly with hands – and sometimes even brushes.
Inscriptions on paintings are made by cutting directly into the paint surface using knives. Canvases are occasionally mutilated by cutting, or even burning, and then may or may not be repaired.
In addition to using oil paint, materials such as charcoal, oil pastel or graphite may also be employed – along with less traditional media, such as stove polish.
Great admirer of, and influenced by, artists including Turner, Munch, Schiele, Hopper, Bacon, Rego and Hambling.
As Marcel Duchamp commented, creation is essentially a series of choices: you make one choice, then you make another, and so on. The paintings featured here tend to adopt that approach: one change following another, then another, until the work is eventually abandoned – but hopefully not before having created a meaningful image, whatever that may be.
Most paintings are for sale, as are high resolution copies of all photographs. Commissions are also undertaken. Enquire at: contact@iandanielsgallery.com
All images on this site are optimised to load quickly and, as a result, are at a reduced resolution. Images of paintings in particular inevitably lack the detail of the originals.