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.

Strength and beauty

#ancientstructures – spiritual presence 02

This vaulted ceilings in the Chapter House is a testament to the skill and ingenuity of the stone masons, unhindered by what we would consider to be crude tools today. They combine beauty and strength, quite deliberately, to produce these magnificent forms that have stood firm for over a thousand years.

Chapter House vaulting [Cat: (23) ANCIENT STRUCTURES 01]

Quick research 08

#capturingalikeness – observation and perception 08

Walking round the National Gallery while thinking about my portrait project, I snapped these close-ups of paintings I liked, selecting them for their range of styles and treatments. Live models would have been used by the artists in all cases, but in some, only as a starting point.

Portrait of Susanna Lunden by Peter Paul Rubens [Cat: (05) CAPTURING A LIKENESS 014]

Quick research 07

#capturingalikeness – observation and perception 07

Walking round the National Gallery while thinking about my portrait project, I snapped these close-ups of paintings I liked, selecting them for their range of styles and treatments. Live models would have been used by the artists in all cases, but in some, only as a starting point.

Women’s heads: Detail, The Way to Calvary by Jacopo Bassano [Cat: (05) CAPTURING A LIKENESS 008]

Quick research 06

#capturingalikeness – observation and perception 06

Walking round the National Gallery while thinking about my portrait project, I snapped these close-ups of paintings I liked, selecting them for their range of styles and treatments. Live models would have been used by the artists in all cases, but in some, only as a starting point.

Hand details – Portrait of Johan de Reus by Nicolas Maes [Cat: (05) CAPTURING A LIKENESS 009]