We are pleased to announce an exhibition Daily Life in Itoshima by Colin Peel on October 26 (Thu) to 28 (Sat), as a result of his activity during his stay at Studio Kura.
Colin Peel is essentially a figurative painter – He paints what he sees.
“Painting is rapidly becoming somewhat of an obsession in my retirement after careers in both Science and Business. The creative process is endlessly rewarding. I have had the opportunity to attend many workshops and art trips with professional artists but regard myself as an amateur artist. I did have a successful first solo exhibition and surprisingly sold 33 paintings. I have no formal art qualifications.
In May I painted many of the features of the landscape in the immediate surrounds of Studio Kura and my Australian colleagues commented on the more lyrical nature of my brushwork. I intend to continue to paint the landscape in the Autumn colours and light of October. I may also extend my work to include city scapes from within Fukuoka.
I am now a volunteer instructor teaching water colour within the University of the Third Age (U3A) in Melbourne and enjoy weekly instruction of 12 aspiring artists. It is a pleasure to see retirees enjoying the creative process.”
Here are some words from the artist himself.
I primarily paint plein air or out in the open and some such paintings are included in this exhibition. However while painting outside I was intrigued by the many local people going about their daily lives – often doing quite traditional tasks.
I asked many should they mind me taking their photograph and used this source material combined with sketches to paint small figure paintings. I aimed for simplicity in keeping with much of the Japanese sensibility – including the minimum of information to indicate the tasks being conducted.
Similarly, with my landscape painting I took a looser and more minimalist approach, sometimes even approaching the abstract.
Colin Peel “Daily Life in Itoshima”
Date: October 26 (Thursday) to 28 (Saturday), 11:00 to 18:30, free entrance
* We will hold an exhibition closing party and an artist talk on 28th (Sat), starting at 15:30.
* The exhibitions by other current residence artists will be also held on the same dates.