Born and brought up in Cumbria on a farm in the Eden Valley, the fells and lakes of Cumbria are firmly imprinted in Colin, a region of the UK he has painted consistently since 2009.
After studying for his Foundation in Fine Art at Carlisle in 1987, Colin graduated with a BA (Hons) in Fine Art at Exeter in 1992. Returning to Cumbria in 1994 & living in Keswick, Colin however felt that he needed to establish himself professionally so a move to London came about. This proved a good decision and led to many shows there and across the UK.
As much as you can take the boy away from the mountains, the hills, fells, his countryside beckoned, and so Colin and his family moved to Derbyshire in 2005. Here Colin has been able to pursue his ambition to paint landscapes and in 2007 started to do so in the open air “en-plein-air”. It took six years to really find what worked well for his artistic style, an approach to paining which is less to do with the blending of colours, preferring instead to work in pure oil with a palette knife. As with all artists, Colin’s professional practice is work in progress and the work is constantly evolving.
In 2021, Colin moved into a yet more rural location in Derbyshire where he and his family live in a 17th Century farmhouse (also a work in progress!), having now built his own gallery and studio. This continues to be a big undertaking which has meant that he has been unable to paint as much as he would like over the past year, yet Colin is back in the fields and hills relishing every moment.
This rural relocation has meant that for the first time Colin can revisit his artistic output work enabling him to select work for this inaugural solo exhibition at the NLG from across his career including both artworks new and old, which has never been seen by the public before. It marks the journey Colin has been on and the evolution of his style and approach.
“It is with much gratitude that I am able to offer my first one person show in this fantastic gallery, back in the town where I once lived. I do hope you enjoy the show and find something in it that speaks to you. ”
