Velt Print

Based in the South West of England David Thomas studied Fine Art at Ravensbourne and Slade schools of art. He taught fine art for many years in colleges of art throughout the UK. He has exhibited extensively in the UK and, less so, abroad. Dave works across a range of media including photography, printmaking and three dimensional disciplines. Living fourteen years in North Wales engendered a passion for the landscape and unique geology of the area. Exploring the hills and summits in and around Snowdonia facilitated an instinctive visual response to Welsh geography. Landscape painting seemed a natural means of responding to this new found interest. Artist's statement I try not to recreate an image, instead, I use it as a reference point to develop a new interpretation. The aim is to produce paintings about the landscape, the intrinsic essential particularities that give it, its inherently distinctive character. I am not interested in painting something that already exists. I want to use paint to explore forms/marks which will ultimately carry emotional weight. In a world preoccupied with technology, there is something remarkable about painting. “I love the expressive mark making possibilities of using oil paint, moving the surface reworking and improvising, at times incorporating wax for texture and greater mobility. I use paint to explore new visual forms to engender an (hopefully) intense response” Lately, exploring the expressive possibilities of water colour has been an exciting and challenging discovery for visual experimentation. Turner is a reference point as is classical composition along with the raw, dramatic impact of the expressionist painting. The outcome will hopefully be a result that holds the viewer’s attention and provokes a reflective empathetic response. For a more information please visit my website www.davidcthomas.co.uk