British Art Portfolio is pleased to present an online exhibition of Contemporary British Landscape Paintings, comprising the works of thirteen painters working across oil, acrylic and watercolour mediums.
The British landscape has served as a muse for many generations of renowned painters, starting with the Classicist depictions of Thomas Gainsborough in the 18th century and flourishing in the 19th century, defined by the Romantic works of J.W Turner and John Constable. The forests, meadows, skies and small towns of rural Britain continue to inspire contemporary artists to follow in the footsteps of this robust canon and capture their own impressions on the canvas.
The evocative paintings of James Naughton or Francis Bowyer were clearly influenced by the sublime, grand depiction of the landscape characteristic of Romanticism. Others such as Ian Poulton, Jill Barthorpe and Robert Newton and Andrew Farmer lean more towards Impressionism, with Newton occasionally adding sweeping abstract brushstrokes to some of his atmospheric paintings. James Kerr captures iconic, rural scenes through abstraction and layered, textural surfaces. Some artists depict the landscape in a more traditionally figurative, realistic style, such as Stanley Grimm, Richard Smythe and Jill Barthorpe, using bright colours and rich detail. Ana Bianchi’s paintings demonstrate a Modernist sensibility by maintaining a balance between the representational and the subject as abstract inspiration, while Sue Campion’s and Leonie Gibbs' canvases have a Pop edge with their vibrant colour palette and surrealist perspective.
This ambitious survey illustrates the breadth and variety of the contemporary British landscape painting tradition, continuing to pave the way for future generations of painters to find inspiration in this endlessly captivating subject.
