About Brian Beasley

Brian Beasley

As an abstract landscape artist and art historian, the New Forest, where I live and work, excites me not only for its varied landscape but also for its one thousand years of history. The New Forest inspires much of my work but the part it has played in the lives of people over the centuries is never far from my thoughts.

What attracts me in the Forest and in many of the landscapes I visit goes beyond the placid rural scenes. I try to seek out the more dramatic lives of landscapes – the fires, the storms, rivers and waterfalls, the earth itself and what is under it – the beauty of caves, the drama of volcanoes and the movement of the land.

As an environmentalist I try never to use artificial materials in my work. I paint the land with the produce of the land - colours made from plants and rocks and clays – pigments that have taken centuries to form that I mix myself with pure oils, forming colours that are slow drying but create a permanent and long-lived vibrancy not equalled in man-made materials.

Landscapes

Brian Beasley

My paintings seem to fall into three categories – all variations on abstract landscapes. My main area of interest is the colours of landscape.

I begin by painting a representative work, something recognisable, from what is in front of me, or from a sketch or photograph or from memory. This is the first layer.

From this certain colours stand out and these are abstracted from the picture to create the basis of the painting along the landscape forms in the original scene. These colours then ‘spread’ through blending or are textured to create colour perspective. This is the second layer.

Depending upon the climate conditions of the original scene this layering is either wet on wet or wet on dry. The final layer is usually on dry, involving highlighting, shading etc.Since I work only in pure pigment oils, trapping the light between the layers to give greater luminescence, I also feel comfortable in adding natural products to give the work greater integrity – leaves, sand, clay, etc.

Black Paintings

Black Paintings Details

My black paintings use the same materials and are produced in a similar way but beginning from a totally black canvas and forming the landscape with unique textured surfaces that I have developed. The black paintings require a spotlight to show them at their best. They were very popular in my recent Paris exhibition because different forms emerge according to the angle of light.

All of my paintings say something about the world we live in, especially the natural world, and many carry feelings which I would like convey.

Jeux d'Espirit

Jeux d'Espirit Details

My third category of paintings is different. I have called them ‘Jeux d’Esprit’ because I want them to be fun. They are inexpensive, small and lively, spontaneous and improvised, and for me provide a contrast to the more serious work but using colours that match the bigger paintings so they may be bought to accompany them.