Gavin88

I have completed a Fine Art course at De Montfort University, Leicester (2012-2015) with a Second Class Honours  (upper division) 2:1. I am passionate about creating art i.e. drawings and painting, which has an unorthodox style. My use of mark-making techniques has an ability to show my concepts/language in what I am communicating in my artwork and have a rich style! I enjoy experimenting with mixing my colour palette, which makes the atmosphere of my paintings vibrant. I use a wide-range scale of canvases and paper sizes. These scales of canvases allow me to use different mark-making techniques with my brushes. My artwork is about escapism in to the unknown world. I approach this by experimenting with the use of composition in an imaginative way. I believe that my sense of composition has an unique style to the surface i.e. airplanes going off the edge of the canvas. In my artwork my narrative is about commercial aeroplane, public transport and the architecture from around the world, especially London scenes. I like to communicate a journey though my drawings and paintings. I mainly paint British Airways, Emirates and other airlines logos. The reason why I use commercial airplanes is because if I was able-bodied I would have had been an airline pilot.. I have flown a Cessna, which was a thrilling experience.  I use acrylic and oil paints. When I draw or paint London I give the impression of the atmosphere of London. My drawing style reminds me of Leon Kossoff with the expression in my drawings. Sometimes my drawings become dark and emotional with how I operate the graphite and the pencils. I also produce drawings and paintings of self-portraiture. I enjoy mixing up different flesh tones and how I lay the pigment on the canvas. I listen to a lot of eighties music and I believe that the composition and vibrant colours are informed by audio and visual from the eighties era.  The self-portraits add a sense of emotion with the application of the paint. Also I draw iconic imagery in the composition. I experiment with how I deal with the objects on the paper surface. I want to capture every detail as possible, but it not that easy for me. I have explained why not in the next paragraph. I have a condition called Cerebral Palsy, which affects my mobility and my speech. I get around by using an electric wheelchair. I love producing art, as it makes me feel free and it enable me to be as creative as possible. When I am producing art I kneel on the floor. You could say that by having lots of activity going on in the composition I am communicating that I am trapped in my body and I see the world in a different perspective. This is what makes my artwork individual and unique to the audience. I hide my disability in my artwork. Art is the pathway to escape from my body.  I received my influence by researching in to Pop Art and also historic and contemporary paintings such as; Malcolm Morley, Ken Kiff, George Baselitz and Andy Warhol. I am inspired by the way which Warhol introduced popular culture in the early sixties. His colour palette has a fresh appeal to the surface. When you are viewing my art you can see a connection in his work and mine. I also love to visit art galleries to get new ideas for my artwork. I have had a few exhibitions showing my artwork in the HUB , which is in Sleaford, Lincolnshire in 2009 and had interests in my art. This was successful. I have also exhibit my artwork in the Newarke House Museum, Leicester alongside with my fellow students in 2013. I was consider by the British Airways to have my artwork in Terminal 5 art gallery at London Heathrow! This May just gone I had my first solo-exhibition in the City Centre in Leicester, which was a great success! I was broadcasted on the BBC Radio Leicester and in the Leicester Mercury (newspaper). I sold a few of my painting’s from this exhibition.. My artwork is being shown now in the De Montfort University Library for the Summer period. On Friday 25th July until  Tuesday 29th July I had an art exhibition in the Highcross Shopping Centre in Leicester. I had a vacant shop, which I found through Somewhereto_. This went successfully well. On Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th April 2015 I showcased another exhibition in Leicester. The newspaper came and interviewed me. On Thursday 16th April 2015 I had the opportunity to showcase live art at the Leicester Tiger’s Stadium. This enabled me to network with businesses from Leicester and London. I have made Google Images and videos on Youtube with my artwork. At the moment I am collaborating with other artists in the Highcross Shopping Centre in Leicester.. I have built up a great rapport with John Coster and Tina Barton, who works for the LiLC in Leicester. From this exhibition I was able to price my work with professional advise from a local gallery. The artwork looks professional displayed. The artwork is for sale along with postcards with my artwork as the design.  My ambition is to become a successful artist and have my art in galleries, bars, airports and public spaces in the UK and internationally. I would like to exhibit my collection of art in a commercial gallery and not to be discriminated by my disability!After doing my Masters I am hoping to have my own studio and be creative as possible. I have already developed a compacted portfolio. A small painting can take over three hours and a big painting over twelve hours.  My e-mail is: [email protected]: www.gavinthackrayjones.com Thank you very much. Gavin Thackray-Jones BA (Hons)  Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}