Simon Fowler - Artist Preview

Meet artist Simon Fowler, Saturday 2nd October, as we celebrate the launch of the largest showcase of his Devon Landscapes to date.

Journey Through Devon - Simon Fowler

The exhibition features a collection of work that Simon has produced since moving to Devon five years ago, during which time he has painted veraciously, inspired by the moorland, coastline and rural idyl that surrounded him. Painting with a representational style, he produces stunning expansive scenes, pushing his colour expression to capture seemingly impossible moments of tone and light that may only be glimpsed for a moment in these constantly changing landscapes.

"My main objective in composing a painting, is to express colour without restraint and continually look to push some of my colour expression as far as I dare, whilst staying true to what I see. It is possible to stand in the landscape for sometimes only minutes, to experience vast changes in light and colour, which also changes mood and atmosphere." Simon Fowler

Coming from a family of artists it was at a young age that Simon discovered a passion for drawing, painting and creative endeavour. Starting with oils in his early teens under the instruction of his Grandfather, a prolific and well-established Bristol artist, he benefitted from instruction from a wide array of family members, producing across ceramics, sculpture and woodcarving as well as painting in a variety of mediums. Their experience and knowledge would be invaluable and today Simon is endowed with a significant artistic talent of his own as a result of this early tuition.

Now 61, Simon has painted continuously all his life endlessly inspired by the great outdoors where he has spent most of his adulthood. A caver for 35 years on the Mendips and a keen motorcyclist and angler, he has built a connection with the landscape which he now cannot help but express in his work. A further 12 years spent boat building and restoring mostly wooden boats, lead to wood carving and sculpture for a long period. For the past 25 years, after training in forestry, woodland management and horticulture, he now works as a garden designer, offering a new exploration for his creativity on a grand scale.

Visitors to the exhibition will have the option to pick from any of the 80 works on display valued up to £2,350. At the end of the exhibition, entries will be drawn at random, and three lucky winners will leave with their favourite work from the show.