artist printmaker
Peter Town is a born storyteller, gifted with an ability to translate both everyday quirks and deeper philosophical musing through his work. Often using strong lines, striking colours and symbolism in his pictures, Town has built a vibrant portfolio.
Born in Bethnal Green, he grew up in Liverpool and was later educated at Bath Academy of Art and the Royal College of Art. Taking advantage of his ability to communicate ideas visually, he went on to enjoy a successful career as a designer while he continued to paint and develop his artistic style through drawing, painting, photography, and printmaking.
While many of Town’s paintings use strong shapes and primary colours, such as the Stairscapes series, others are quieter and more contemplative, representing a more tranquil inner space.
His Abstracts series features works where the narrative is more ambiguous but ever-present. He sees landscapes, interior spaces and natural forms as abstract shapes and colours, transcribing these in his unique style onto paper and canvas.
Everyone loves a book shop, preferably second-hand, and this one in my drawing is promoting ‘Learn a Language’ – a skill I never mastered. It’s one of a series of shop fronts on the home page of my website that provide a link to different sections of my portfolio. Alternatively, you can click here to go to Painting 2000 – 2021.
Much of Town’s imagery is rooted in his early years spent in Cyprus. Even before he had mastered the basics of an English education, he was familiar with myth and mythology; the beach where Aphrodite came ashore, the Tombs of the Kings in Paphos, the influence of the Phoenicians, Crusaders and Ottomans, and the symbols and characters of the ancient world. Over the years, this mingled in his mind to produce a lively and varied iconography for his work.
This drawing is based on a Tailors & Cleaners’ premises in Brixton, owned by my grandfather, a skilled tailor and a stern Irishman. It’s one of a series of shop fronts on the home page of my website that provide a link to different sections of my portfolio. Alternatively, you can click here to go to Painting 1960 – 1980.
This drawing shows a travel agency like the one I visited with my father while living in Cyprus as a boy. It’s one of a series of shop fronts on the home page of my website that provide a link to different sections of my portfolio. Alternatively, you can click here to go to Painting 1980 – 2000.
East Dean, so inspiring I keep coming back…subconscious abstracts emerge from observing the shoreline and the landscape.
East Dean, so inspiring I keep coming back… this is a stunted tree I pass while out walking, my attempts to capture a likeness.
East Dean, so inspiring I keep coming back…two halves of a quick landscape sketch.
