David Gordon Bowker

I was born and raised in the Greater Manchester area of the UK and I still live there. My artistic influences are varied and I'm not going to state them in case I forget someone who is more influential than I realise. Inspiration comes when it will and is outside of my control. It can come when you are simply walking down the street or looking out of a window, but it comes about, I think, because you are engrossed in art. in looking at things, and in the practice of making art objects. I like to work in oils and acrylics when painting, in pencil, pen, charcoal and coloured pencils when drawing, and in the detritus, waste and assorted bits and pieces of everyday life when making collages. Photography is a medium I work in but in a simple way, nothing technical. I see something that interests me and I press the button. I don't believe in post-production of photographs and I don't do arranged, studio compositions. Please see my personal website at for more images.

I did a Combined Studies degree comprising Visual Arts and Art & Design History at Bolton Institute of Higher Education (now Bolton University) as a mature student in the 1990s. I had been making pictures for many years before that, since my school years, when I was encouraged by various art teachers. I haven't really worked under or with any other artists, although at present I and a couple of like-minded friends/artists have an informal set-up where we meet up and discuss art and our latest ideas and work. Apart from that, it has been my teachers at school and college that have been my mentors, advisors and supporters, I suppose. I also have an M.A. in Applied Linguistics, relevant to my work as an English language teacher, and language and text is an element to be found in my work, especially in the collages.

I've exhibited on and off since the mid-1980s, locally in libraries and cafes, usually in one-man shows, as well as contributing to Open exhibitions in Bury and Chester. In 2019 my painting entitled 'The Knifing' was exhibited in the Chester Open Art Exhibition at the Grosvenor Museum, Chester. In July 2021 I am scheduled to exhibit a selection of drawings at Chester Art Centre. My work - paintings, drawings, collages and photographs - is in private collections in a number of countries.