David Rees

I had a love for art from an early age; my weekends would be spent drawing the heroes and monsters from cartoons and video games. At school this was nurtured, I learnt different styles and was introduced to life drawing. I gained an art scholarship to my senior school and in sixth form finally started experimenting with oil paints, which is probably one of the safer things to experiment with in sixth form. Alongside painting and selling my work to teachers at the school, I studied Art History at A level. This was mainly for the school trips to Madrid and Paris, but unknowingly, it built the foundation of an understanding and appreciation of art that I had previously lacked. Eventually I studied History of Art at Nottingham University.

I'd never planned to become a painter; it hadn't even occurred to me that it was a real job. The art world seemed to be about conceptual art that felt uninviting and certainly not the type of thing I was interested in making. I kept drawing as a hobby, and instead worked in International Development for charities in Africa working with street involved children. Then one day I went to an Andrew Salgado exhibition; I was blown away by what I saw. His large portrait paintings were unlike anything I h...

History of Art Degree, Nottingham University 2011

Castle Fine Art Glasgow, 2017
Castle Fine Art Cambridge, 2016
Castle Fine Art Covent Garden, 2016