The artists at Castle Fine Art have been keeping busy painting, and each month Castle select artists and works to feature in their Original Art of the month series.
This month there is a selection of art created in lockdown from Lawrence Coulson, Robert Bailey and Robert Oxley.
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Robert Bailey
Pencil artist Robert Bailey delights fans across the globe with his amazingly detailed Star Wars sketches. His work was noticed by Star Wars creator George Lucas, who invited Robert to work on Star Wars Visions – which saw 30 artists create their own interpretations of characters and scenes. George bought many of his prints for both himself and case and crew members
Robert uses a method called hatching, whereby he shades with closely-drawn parallel lines to imply shade, tone and texture. Whilst it may look messy, it’s a very controlled technique: the distance between the hatching marks determine how light or dark that area appears. Notable adopters of hatching include Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Michelangelo and Edgar Degas.
“Only by practice can the Dexterity of fine pencil work be kept up.”
Caught in the Middle – signed original artwork £1,450
Lawrence Coulson
Over the last two decades with our publishers Washington Green, Lawrence Coulson has traversed and reflected upon the elements to develop his own distinctive style. Since becoming a professional artist in 1997, he has seen many of his original paintings produced as sell-out limited edition artworks.
Lawrence begins with a simple pencil line to denote the horizon before mentally mapping out the rest of the composition. Following this, he applies oil paint before blending it with his fingers and then again with a fine brush. He repeats this process until his painting does justice to the landscape in his mind.
“The natural light that appears as dawn breaks or dusk falls is my favourite light to capture. My work focuses on contrast and the moment of hope and optimism shining through.”
Clear Air (After Rain) – signed original artwork £4,950
This Veil of Fire – signed original artwork £7,500
Robert Oxley
Following a childhood spent roaming the forests of a North East coalmining village, Robert Oxley’s affinity with nature is evident in every instinctive paint drop and brushstroke
Immersing himself in Pop Surrealism, Robert presents viewers with what he calls “psychedelic natural history”. As an animal lover, he has recently worked on projects with The Big Cat Sanctuary and the National K9 Memorial to raise money for animals in need.
Robert usually starts with a two-inch brush and block in some shapes to decide where the eyes and mouth will be placed – usually in a very thin yellow wash. As this is drying, he cuts in the form on the animals. Once this is dry, he quickly covers the area with yellow paint and lets it run down the canvas before building up colour with successively thicker paint. He tries to make the work look like it was made quickly and loosely, but on inspection every brushstroke is considered.
“I love the freedom and brutality of nature, but I don’t like what we are humans are doing to it. My art is a way of exploring and exposing this.”
Godspeed – signed original artwork £3,950
Clouis – signed original artwork £3,500
Castle Fine Art
8-10, The Exchange,
Nottingham
NG1 2DD
T: 0115 958 3883
