PEAKS & TROUGHS

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘PEAKS AND TROUGHS’

CHRIS PROUT

…a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

11 April – 4 May 2015

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

PEAKS AND TROUGHS A solo exhibition of paintings at gallerytop by

Chris Prout

I’m taken with landlocked Derbyshire. I love its rich and diverse topography, searing hills, edges and vistas that stretch far and wide. The short and winding roads that connect and lead you to pretty villages, market towns, farmland, mills, rivers and reservoirs. The weather too plays a significant part. It can be harsh and unforgiving, yet offer stunning light and rain shows. The elements play an important part of fuelling the rivers and tributaries that energised the industry and historic mills and put this landmass on the world map. The landscape is rich in natural minerals which have been mined and quarried ceaselessly. Farming, along with the growth of housing, have carved beautiful gestures in the rise and fall of the land.

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

From a painter’s perspective there is a lot to see and consider. I’ve walked hill sides so steep I could hardly stand and felt my pounding heart wavering from exhaustion and of course peering at the visual splendour that lay in front of me.

It’s at these times when I’m walking, thinking, drawing, absorbing, I ask myself, ‘How do I deal with this, how do I record, capture and relate to this landmass?

It’s vast and diverse... How do I sum it up?’

Well, the answer for me is in bite sized chunks. My personal driver for this body of work is ‘Landscape.’ As always, I paint what I see and how I emotionally relate to the location. My personal take on this series of works is that it feels like a starting point for me. I’m gently probing and discovering the Dales. I’ve just dipped my toe into South Derbyshire and a little further afield. In time I will become more familiar with the ground, become bolder, more experienced and spread my thoughts and creative wings further afield.

The paintings displayed here are an amalgam of images created from working drawings, musings and memories of locations sampled and enjoyed. There is a sense that you are joining me on a meandering walk, slowly discovering new paths, ancient walkways, feeling the rain, enjoying the fresh air, getting wet, gasping at the beauty, tiptoeing on the Peaks and splashing around in the troughs. In essence, it’s Derbyshire. It’s a new adventure for me and it makes my heart jump a beat. ‘I like it!’

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘Across

the Land a Distant Village’

Acrylic on panel 40cm x 40cm plus frame

£1195

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘Autumn Rains, Dovedale’

Acrylic on canvas 70cm x 70cm plus frame

£2700

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

Brooding Sky, River Valley’

‘

Acrylicon canvas 90cm x 90cm

£3800

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘Boundary Walls’

Acrylic on panel 30cm x 30cm plus frame

£895

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘Cloud Rising, Goyt Valley’

Acrylic on panel 32cm x 29cm plus frame

£895

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘First Light Cuts Through the Morning Dark’

Acrylic on panel 51cm x 41cm plus frame

£1350

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘High Up, Distant Town’

Acrylic on panel 32cm x 29cm

£895

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘High Up, Low Cloud’

Acrylic on panel 20cm x 20cm plus frame

£450

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘Link’

Acrylic on panel 30cm x 30cm

£895

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘Plateau, Viewed From Lickpenny Lane’

Acrylic on panel 40cm x 40cm plus the frame

£1195

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘Rain Passing, Goyt Valley’

Acrylic on canvas 70cm x 70cm plus frame

£2700

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘Relaxing by the Dove’

Acrylic on Panel 30cm x 30cm plus the frame

£895

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘Spring in the Valley’

Acrylic on panel 20cm x 20cm plus the frame

£450

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘Steep – With Bakewell Distant’

Acrylic on panel 30cm x 30cm plus the frame £895

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘The B5023 and a Lovely Road to Somewhere…”

Acrylic on panel 51cm x 41cm plus the frame

£1350

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘The Rise and Fall on a Calm Evening’

Acrylic on panel 40cm x 40cm plus the frame

£1195

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘The River and Fall – Dovedale’

Acrylic on panel 30cm x 30cm plus the frame

£895

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘The Rock and Lady’

Acrylic on panel 40cm x 40cm plus the frame

£1195

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

‘The Wood in the Valley and the Glory Beyond’

Acrylic on panel 51cm x 41cm plus the frame

£1350

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

Welsh born, Chris was educated at Swansea school of art studying technical illustration and graphics. He has been involved in the creative industry for well over 20 years. He’s a skilled draughtsman but has always used a broad brush to express himself. With extensive experience of working as an illustrator, visualiser and benefitting from national and international clients, Chris carved out a healthy professional career working in the disciplines of publishing, design and property.

Nowadays he paints bold expressive landscapes, seascapes and architecture. His award winning paintings are rich in colour, texture and are representational or semi abstract in nature. He enjoys being out of doors, walking the gentle hills of the Midlands or the soaring coastal footpaths of Wales and beyond. These experienced impressions energise his imagination and frequently appear in his work.

He regularly exhibits his paintings and his work hangs in many private collections throughout the UK and overseas.

In recent years and since he has committed himself to painting full time he has received much praise and with notable success. Chris has a distinctive and original approach to his practice and chooses to present and build his own artwork and frames. Therefore offering the viewer a unique, immersive and personal experience of his work.

Chris draws, paints, scrapes, smudges and throws his paint from his home studio hidden away at a quiet nook in rural Northamptonshire.

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk

CHRIS PROUT: ‘Peaks & Troughs’ a painters journey through the Derbyshire Peak District

gallerytop: Chatsworth Road: Rowsley: Derbyshire: DE4 2EH 01629 735580: info@gallerytop.co.uk: www.gallerytop.co.uk