A new year brings new art to the Harwich Arts and Heritage Centre and we kick off in style with local artist David Bexley who is putting on a bespoke exhibition in our Main Hall from Monday 10th January onwards.
Let’s find out a bit more about the artist…
“My father was a graphic designer so I was always going to be an artist. I won a national prize for drawing when I was eleven and became a commercial artist in London at 17. But painting and drawing were my first loves so I ended up at Sheffield University graduating with a B.A. in Fine Art in 1967. I even exhibited at the Tate Gallery. I then spent most of my life travelling the world and working as a motorcycle racer then a computer systems analyst. Odd how things works out!
I never stopped drawing, painting and designing, working part time as a lecturer at Southend Art School and exhibiting from time to time, especially while overseas. I have been retired for 26 years so I have been able to devote a lot of time to painting.
I’m always happy to discuss the techniques in my work but not to explain it. I despise art that needs justification. If you like what I do, I’m delighted. If not, I doubt words will change your mind.
I prefer to work on the human figure and portraits because they are so challenging but I enjoy a wide range of subjects. I work in most available media. I am unusual, I gather, starting with a clear image of what I want the finished work to look like then letting this determine the best medium. I despair of 21st century art’s pointless obsession with novelty, its laziness and its commercialism.
I am not a professional artist which is reflected in my prices. If I wanted a decent hourly rate I’d work at Tesco. I sell my work to try to cover the materials and model costs. I continue to paint and draw because I don’t know how not to.”