Philip was born in Salford, studied in Leeds and now live in Eccles.He has had over 20 exhibitions in city galleries across the Northwest and his work has featured in major exhibitions in the UK and USA.His paintings are in many private collections in Germany, Canada, Australia, Spain, Denmark, Hong Kong, UK, and USA and covers a wide spectrum of styles and themes. As an artist interested in figurative work, he is always looking for contemporary subjects in situations, which reflect today’s way of life. He believes that holidaymakers represent a new field in art.
One of the profound changes of modern times has been the growth and importance of the foreign holiday. With the Mediterranean countries providing perfect hot, sunny weather, and the reasonable prices of package tours, many more Britons are taking their seasonal two-week holiday away from the unpredictable weather of this UK.
This has created a wonderful opportunity to observe people at their leisure. Under the intense, bright light, colour sometimes becomes muted, and he finds trying to capture this effect on canvas quite a challenge. As a contrast, the gaudy swimwear and beach paraphernalia creates instant bold images. Coupled with these are the people themselves. The overcrowded beaches and the position people relax in, figures constantly changing position look distorted as they seek an all over tan. Relaxing around the pool or sea areas provides much to observe and capture. The water itself can change quickly and trying to represent this in unusual and diverse ways has been one of his main aims. These scenes have been a delightful and exciting source of material from which he has sketched and painted. Recently he has captured these scenes using an iPad drawn with an Apple pencil. Some of these drawings have then been translated into acrylic paintings.
The British on holiday provide a worthy subject matter for the modern artist of today. For somebody with an interest in the human figure, where else can it be seen in such a variety of poses.