College Days
I want the project to have as much impact as possible, perhaps in the same way that Moran had such a positive influence on my early paintings, my work and Andrew’s photographs in the exhibition might hopefully have a similar effect on young artists, who feel they want to pursue a creative path. With this in mind and with the help of gallery staff we devised a plan that has become an exciting reality.
Bolton University has kindly given me access to the print room for one day a week from now until the exhibition. The residency marks a return to the very roots of my paintings and my life as an artist. It was here, during my Art foundation course in 1990 I was given my first introduction to the ‘magic’ of fine art printing by a great mentor, Bill Dyson. I went on to study print as the main focus of my degree course in Leeds, 1991-94. I didn’t know it at the time but the years acquainting myself with the nature of oil based ink was turning me into an oil painter. I’ll illustrate this transformation more clearly with examples as I go on to describe the work from my residency in future posts.
Pubs Scenes, Monoprints, 1993
I also returned to the college in 1997 to work as a library assistant, initially full time and then part time until 2006, this enabled me to develop my paintings with the freedom that comes from another source of income.
So the University has played a crucial role in my development. It’s my hope that in producing work here and speaking with the students I’ll be able to give them a valuable insight into the project and re-establish the important links between print making and my paintings.