Author: PT

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.

The Bridge Series

#connectinginterlocking – leading to other places

A felled log across a stream can provide a temporary bridge, while a feat of engineering in the form of a suspension bridge can make a bold statement of welcome across a dramatic ravine. Bridges connect people; they can lead to other places or be a destination in themselves, but most importantly, they must be securely anchored at each end.

I find that these anchored pillars create a tension at opposite ends of the span, and this tension forms the basis of my series of abstracts.

BRIDGE | series I | Two Way
The BRIDGE series [Cat: 9999, BRIDGE | series I | Two Way, 30 x 40″ / 76 x 101 cm, Acrylic on canvass, 2008]

The Mount series

#timeandtide – metamorphosis

Although now cold, some craggy mountain structures were formed by volcanic action and were born from deep in the earth as white-hot lava flowed to the surface. Worn down thousands of years later into smaller rounded shapes by icy glaciers, the mount that remains is a pleasingly shaped structure – a mere shadow of its former self, yet still resisting its ultimate fate.

Mounts are the inspiration for an abstract series which suggests birth, metamorphosis, and present state.

MOUNT | series III | Monte Catria
The MOUNT series [Cat: 9999, MOUNT | series III | Monte Catria, 30 x 40″ / 76 x 101 cm, Acrylic on canvass, 2015]

The Pane series

#reflectionandrefraction – mirrored reality

It is difficult to pass a plate glass window without glancing at our own reflection, yet the reflection is not a true likeness but a mirror image. Windows often pick up reflections from surrounding windows, opening up the possibility of a ‘hall of mirrors’ effect.

I have taken the abstracted reflections from windows as a starting point and incorporated them into a series of paintings.

PANE | series I | Spring
The PANE series [Cat: 9999, PANE | series I | Spring, 30 x 40″ / 76 x 101 cm, Acrylic on canvass, 2006]

Shingle washed together

#naturalforms – fluid sculpture

Natural forms, this project covers a wide area with the common theme of flowing lines. These can be found in the delicate contours of a body, the arch of a tree bough and in a stone sculpted on the seashore. Natural forms are created by growth, decay, erosion, and all the forces of wind rain and sun.

However, these shapes are formed by nature and not by the hand of man and so they have our admiration for their satisfying subtlety, beauty and fluidity.

Shingle washed together
Shingle washed together resembling a cluster of cells [Cat: 0340, East Dean beach white blank, 8 x 8″ / 20 x 20 cm, Acrylic on canvass board, 2017]