THE
GRANTBRADLEYmagazine
ISSUE #35
'Portrait II' by Patrick Astwood
THE
GRANTBRADLEYgallery
APRIL2016
SHOWING APRIL 2016
1 St Peter’s Court Bedminster Parade Bristol BS3 4AQ T. 0117 9637 673 W. grantbradleygallery.co.uk E. info@grantbradleygallery.co.uk
APRIL EXHIBITIONS SHOWING 9TH UNTIL 30TH APRIL 2016
PRISM SEBASTIAN APLIN ART BY DEBBIE ANN
PRISM Graphic artist and designer Patrick Astwood is pleased to announce a new exhibition of giclee prints at the Grant Bradley Gallery. The exhibition, titled PRISM, features work from a year long process of image design and printmaking. Patrick's particular obsession with colour and form began two years ago when he embarked on a series of 'raw' acrylic spray-painted canvases. The pieces had a purity and vibrancy that were both impactful and strongly evocative, often encouraging the viewer to project their own narrative onto the paintings. The pieces were exhibited at the Grant Bradley Gallery in Bristol in 2014 as part of a group show. "PRISM has taken me in a different direction," says Patrick, "I wanted to work with figurative images and more recognisable forms, but then use colour to subvert and transform familiar objects, and challenge viewer perceptions." Using a number of techniques, including photography, screen printing and digital manipulation, Patrick's method involves an intense process of superimposition, refraction and deconstruction. The resulting images remain familiar, but through the rearrangement of colour, boundaries and textures, they are transformed into more abstract forms. Reminiscent of Warholstyle pop art images, the collection portrays a diverse range of subjects. "I use a number of processes in my work, but I am above all an image-maker. For me what matters is the end product. I like my images to be visually arresting, and sometimes thought provoking, but fundamentally something you want to hang on your wall!"
SEBASTIAN APLIN I'm fascinated by the craft of painting and enjoy the challenge of developing the skills to create something beautiful. I try to achieve a finished piece that allows the painting process to be as visible as possible and to make obvious the steps that give paintings the illusion of reality. Once I have learned what I can from the production of one piece it's time to move on to the next one that will teach me something new. I like to question what makes works of art wonderful to look at and enjoy moving between different drawing and painting media so that I'm always discovering expressive qualities that are new to me. The manipulation of the medium is the joy in painting that any child would recognize while I also enjoy the discipline of observing objects carefully in order to draw and paint them. For this exhibition I have chosen works painted mostly from life although I use a camera extensively to clarify the image I'm painting and to chart the progress of the work. I've always been drawn to sketches and studies rather than large scale finished museum pieces and wonder at how great artists have managed to distill even the most complex structures into simple forms. I hope that you enjoy the paintings in this exhibition.
ART BY DEBBIE ANN My paintings are all personal responses to places and subject matter that I have had a spiritual connection with. Certain patterns, colours and techniques are chosen to reflect certain feelings I have about a subject, and my aim is for the viewer of my works to feel this too. I rarely paint from photographs, preferring to follow memories and emotional responses to a certain scene for reference. My passion for painting began around 21 years ago after I received a book of works by Van Gogh. This initial fascination inspired me to to pick up a brush and to produce my first painting 'The Lost Elephants'. Painting is my joy and passion and I'm delighted to share it with a wider audience.
THE
GRANTBRADLEYgallery
GBG APRIL 2016 EXHIBITIONS AT THE GRANT BRADLEY GALLERY 1 St Peter’s Court Bedminster Parade Bristol BS3 4AQ T. 0117 9637 673 W. grantbradleygallery.co.uk E. info@grantbradleygallery.co.uk