Collection: CHRIS PEACOCK

I was born in 1950 in the city of Bristol but have lived in the beautiful county of Cornwall, most of my adult life. I first journeyed to Cornwall in 1977 when as a reluctant draftee of the Royal Navy, I was astonished  by hedges bursting with spring colour and glimpses of turquoise that shimmered into view. It was then I realised I was bound for a special place.

 It was many years later that I discovered the confidence to paint this place which I now call home, when I was fortunate to be given an introduction to painting by the brilliant artist and teacher Jenny Aitken, whose generous advice and encouragement hooked me into starting out. Since then I have taken part in many workshops with very different artists and continue to enjoy these types of opportunities to gather and garnish my ideas. 

You cannot visualise Cornwall and detach it from the sea. It is quintessential to any understanding of this place. So no surprise that although my subjects vary, they predominantly focus on Cornish coastal landscapes. For these, I use acrylic or occasionally oil paint, brushed on a surfaces such as canvas, MDF, heavy quality paper or rag. 

I don’t regard myself as a commercial artist. I paint because I love doing it, although of course, like any artist I am very happy if others appreciate my work. My paintings are naive in detail but crucially contain those details that I feel are essential for the distillation and cohesion of the final image.

I am excited by the idea of abstracting the landscape in some of my future projects and have already selected a particular stretch of coastline local to me. Otherwise, I really have no idea where or how my art will progress. The art-scape is vast and I will just enjoy winding every which way, until I no longer can.