Ian Piper PWS EAGMA

Ian Piper studied fine art at Norwich School of Art and at The Slade School of Fine Art, London University. The traditionally based disciplines of draughtsmanship, composition, colour and tonal values were what impressed Ian at The Slade where the influence of Sir William Coldstream was very evident.

Looking back over the early influences that have had a bearing on his work Ian cites the names of Henry Tonks, Sir William Nicholson and Sir John Lavery as painters who were inspirational.

While working mainly in England and Scotland, travel has been important in giving Ian an opportunity to experience landscapes under a different light. The soft occluded light of the English coast gives an effect quite different from the vivid colour and deep shadows seen under the fierce light of the Cote d’Azur. And yet again the landscapes that he has painted in the dry heat of Australia show yet another phase in his work.

Ian sees painting as a creative journey each day of which is filled with the excitement of capturing a moment in time before it elapses for ever. To make that journey rewarding and meaningful the painter has to have made preparation by learning and developing the necessary skills. These in turn enable the artistic imagination to translate the image in the mind into an image on the canvas. By painting every day the act of painting becomes almost instinctive, the selection of colours, the adjustment on the palette to get the right tone, the selection of the brush the delivery to the surface of the canvas with a clean sure stroke all become a unity with endless practice.

In addition to showing his work at Seaview Gallery Ian has exhibited at:

The RA, RWA, RCA , Mall Galleries London, Paisley Art Institute, Catto Gallery Hampstead, Swann Gallery London, Mandells Gallery, Concept Gallery Glasgow, Manor House Gallery, Thompsons Gallery, Aubrey Gallery, Aberfeldy Gallery, Bizet Gallery Norway, Wentworth Gallery Sidney. Ian has work in corporate and private collections in the UK, Europe, North America and Australia and in the collection of HM The Queen.