The Last Annesley Pit Pony Painting

David Taylor-Curran Born in Singapore, raised in Manchester, England. I am fascinated by the ephemeral of what I see and what is seen when the normal is framed by the extraordinary. I have always been captivated by sunlight breaking through following a heavy storm, the landscape and objects within it become vibrant, lit against the dark leaden sky and my current works reflect this observation. A landscape following a storm becomes spiritual, set against a veil of oppressive heavy drapery, mundane objects suddenly dance and pop with luminous beauty. Exploring this concept further has lead me to consider removing the daylight from the scene altogether, leaving all other elements lit as they would be as if sunlight was still present everywhere but the sky. By applying greater detail to a foreground object within the composition I invite the viewer to stand where I stood and to see what I saw, by applying contemporary styling to in-fill the out of focus background information I’m inviting the viewer to experience a detailed image within a fleeting moment in time. With this in mind I fold elements of Tiffany Lamps and stained glass windows into the composition to create the final piece. Since a young boy I’ve always squiggled and sketched and played with pencils with no thought as to why. It was just something I did and enjoyed doing though my formative years. Leaving school I was destined for a career where I could draw and sketch and paint. In 1984 I studied for a B/TEC in graphic design for two year which incorporated studies in foundation art. The onset of computing and digital art replaced pencils and paint and relearn for the digital age, resulting in becoming a whizz kid in digital illustration, photo manipulation and later, multimedia application. An HND in advertising and marketing followed two years later resulting in a 35 year career as a commercial and digital designer. Due to the early onset of Rheumatoid Arthritis it became impossible to continue on my established career path and once again I returned to the art world to practice, to improve, to grow and develop as an oil painter. Every day is a day in school. As I am starting on my new adventure, I’ve painted several commission pieces and exhibited at Fletcher Gate Art Gallery, Nottingham and Stockport Art Guild, Stockport.