Harvey Taylor

Graduated from Winchester School of Art in 1993 and then moved to Colchester in 1997 to teach art at the Sixth Form College where I am now the Head of Art and Design. My painting has evolved from abstract paintings to more exact realist work.

Painting is something I feel I have to do and I use the places I visit and people that I know well as my subject matter. I don’t do preparatory sketches or any under drawing but instead I use a grid to carefully transpose the colours, shapes and lines of an image to canvas. During my degree at Winchester School and Art, and for ten years after, I developed a body of abstract paintings where I was letting the imagery emerge as I worked. However, I grew dissatisfied with this way of working. Seeking a way of making figurative images and wanting to have a way of working that was more controlled I looked towards using a photographic image as my source material.

Dissecting every day photographs that I have taken is now my main artistic practice. Selecting an image to transform into a painting is the hardest part as I know I will be working on it for a number of weeks and maybe months, depending on the size of the canvas. I will start by breaking the image down using a grid. A small hole is cu...

PGCE - Secondary Education - Art and Design, Canterbury Christ Church College, Canterbury, Kent
BA (Hons) Fine Art - Winchester School of Art, Winchester, Hampshire
Foundation Diploma, - Kent Institute of Art and Design, Canterbury, Kent

SOLO SHOWS
2023 The Sea, Art:Oasis, Frinton, Essex
2021 Art at Home solo show, Kath and Company, Twickenham, London
2020 - Part of an online exhibition on Instagram and Facebook - #CuratingforCorona
2018 - Collected Works, The Minories, Colchester, Essex.
2015 - Painting, The Cut, Halesworth, Suffolk.
2013 - Portraits, Norman Rea Gallery, University of York
2010 - A Painter's Process, Slack Space, Colchester
2009 - Sleeping Heads, Benham Gallery, Cuckoo Farm Studios, Colchester
2007 - Wembley Point, West London - Target follow.
2007 - Benham Gallery, Cuckoo Farm Studios
2007 - Appetite Cafe, Colchester
2005 - Shaping Colour at the Digby Gallery, The Mercury Theatre, Colchester
2005 - Benham Gallery, Cuckoo Farm Studios, Colchester
2004 - The Garden Cafe. Firstsite @ The Minories - Colchester
2003 - McCleans Bar, Colchester
2003 - Head Street Gallery, Halstead, Essex
2002 - Priory Galleries, Colchester
2001 - Les Livres Gallery, Colchester
2001 - Trinity Street Studios, Colchester
2000 - Inkpen Downie Gallery, Colchester
1999 - Gallery 73, Brighton
1999 - Chambers Gallery, Ipswich
1999 - Nevill Gallery, Canterbury

SOME GROUP SHOWS AND OPENS
2023 X, Contemporary British Painting, Newcastle Contemporary Art
2023 Group show at Studi...