Energy - an exhibition of paintings by Peter King

Opening View: Sunday 22 November, 12 - 3 pm

Peter says his early passion to paint really started to mature into something more meaningful in 1949 after his art teacher persuaded his parents to send the 13 year old boy in to Hammersmith School of Art (now The Chelsea Art College). Later he worked as a draughtsman and graphic artist, moving into freelance work with design and calligraphy before becoming an art director on several feature films.

The desire to paint from the heart has never left him, and the auteur filmmaker Marcus Thomson says of him, “Far from softening with maturity, the artist’s palette and brushwork has become increasingly passionate and free. The wild flamboyance in his art stems not from some mental anguish, but from the world around him that he depicts with admiration and joy.”

Early studies in watercolour progressed to expressive oil paintings in vibrant colours. Youthful enthusiasm he may have and hold onto, but it does not allow him to ignore the events of current times. Some of his more sombre paintings are a reflection of his frustration of man’s inhumanity to man: conflict, famine and poverty.

My painting of the bullfighter is an expression of this darkness out there. It depicts the cruelty of man against the bull. However I offset my concerns by walking the wonderful Devon landscapes, taking in the colours and atmosphere. I will then take what I feel back to my studio and begin my work with the use of small thumbnail sketches, giving me the basis and freedom to work my paintings into what they become.

Peter has exhibited in West Sussex, Gloucestershire, Cirencester, London, Oxfordshire, and Devon, with solo shows in Totnes, Fishbourne and Dartmouth. This is his first solo exhibition at Harbour House.

For more information visit http://www.harbourhouse.org.uk/g15-peterking.shtml