The essence of summer days
BRIGHOUSE artist Neville Fleetwood's vibrant paintings seem to capture the essence of summer in their depictions of sun-drenched landscapes, clear blue skies and golden cornfields.
The colour and texture of the Yorkshire landscape are what inspire his work and the shimmering heat of still summer afternoons seems to radiate from the canvas.
Unlike his fellow Brighouse artist Peter Brook, Neville has no interest in winter scenes. "I admire Peter's work very much but I am not interested in the same things as him. I like strong colours and summer landscapes."
Appropriately Neville's paintings, which so vividly depict the season, are on view in the summer exhibition at the Harrison Lord Gallery, Brighouse, this month.
Neville, of Towngate, Clifton, was born in Huddersfield in 1932. He started taking an interest in art and painting from about the age of 14 and studied at Huddersfield School of Art from 1947 to 1953. On graduating he went to work in a graphic art studio before starting his own signwriting business. After a succesful career he retired early to paint full-time and has exhibited extensively in his native Yorkshire, the Cotswolds, on the Isle of Wight and in London.
"I retired in 1983 so that I could devote myself full-time to painting. I mostly work from memory and the landscape is a source of inspiration, particularly the Yorkshire fields at harvest time. But my paintings are not precise depictions of a particular scene or landscape – painting from life doesn't work for me," said Neville, who cites the Impressionists as an influence.
"I prefer the summer landscape, meadows of poppies, white cottages and golden cornfields. I like the richness of colour. I sometimes work and re-work a painting, sometimes I leave a painting for two or three weeks then go back and start again. The secret is deciding when a painting is finished.
"It is pleasing when someone buys one of my paintings – after all I paint for people to see my work."
Neville uses oils and acrylics and applies the paint in bright colours thickly with a brush and palette knife to build up the required effect. In a masterclass article in the Artist's Magazine, he describes his style as 'loose, colourful and painterly'. He particularly enjoys painting the hot, bleached landscape of the south of France, the mix of water and old buildings of Amsterdam and the Pennine hills around Holmfirth.
He was elected associate member of the Royal Institute of British Oil Painters in 1997 and became a full member in 2001. In 2000 he won the Cornelisson Prize and the Fabrica Award. In October his work will go on show at the Mall Galleries in London at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters' autumn exhibition.
Hard work has transformed it into a showpiece garden and for a couple of years the green-fingered couple opened it to the public to raise funds for the Overgate Hospice at Elland.
“It can be difficult trying to decide whether to have a day in the studio or to go out and do a bit of weeding. There is always something to be done in the garden,” said Neville who has a daughter Michelle and 15-year-old grand-daughter Olivia.
When he’s not painting or gardening, Neville enjoys golf and jazz. He plays clarinet with the Superior Jazz Band which has a residency at the Yorkshire Pudding pub at Mirfield.
“Being a painter can be quite a solitary activity so I enjoy the chance to meet up with others for a game of golf or to practise jazz,” he said.
l Paintings by Neville Fleetwood, along with work by Paul Talbot-Greaves, Geoffrey T. Wood, Linda Wormald, Sally Darlington and other artists, is at the Harrison Lord Gallery, Bradford Road, until mid-September.
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Weather for Halifax
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 3 C
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