Details

First Name

Keith

Last Name

Epps

Username

keithepps

Website

keithepps.blogspot.com

Region

Edinburgh & The Lothians

Disciplines

Painting

Themes

Figurative, Landscape

Statement

Statement

Any artwork should grab the attention of the viewer, and reward at first glance. With longer exposure, it should fulfill its potential to convey the feelings and ideas of the artist – of whatever discipline – and provoke further thought.

 

Ideally that is…

 

My own work is representational, though not photorealistic, and relies heavily on reference material – drawn or photographed. My subject matter is not limited to specific genres, but I have been led to landscape through a fascination with clouds. Figures are a constant preoccupation; I often sketch passers-by from the window as a warm-up exercise.

 

I enjoy the technical business of painting, and work mainly in oil paint and watercolour. I tend to use watercolour to draw rapid, transient events from life – figures and skies – while the more complex easel work is done with oil paint, using a variety of oil mediums. Different oils, with varnish, have smoother or stickier paint qualities, and lend themselves to harder or softer marks. Stroking and blending the oily paint softens and rolls it, and I like the even surface that results. Whenever possible, I try to exploit the transparency and opacity of the pigments I’m using.

 

When composing, I frequently use photoshop for testing ideas – the initial elements of the work can be changed and adjusted more easily and accurately than with multiple separate evolutions on paper. A lot of my image sources are from photographs anyway, and I find some of my landscapes and skies on google streetview.

 

For some time now, I’ve been driven by one of the least original ideas in art – Et in Arcadia Ego – where the dark and painful exists within the light and beautiful. For me, these ideas had their genesis in watching the 1990s Yugoslav wars on TV; I found it hard to reconcile those ghastly events happening within such a beautiful setting.

 

Underlying all my future work will be the constant development of painting technique and drawing skills, and further development of my use of the human figure; it has a unique and infinite potential to induce emotional resonance.

Biography

Biography

biog & development

Son of Ernie and Doreen, and Brother of Ian

Married to Colby Adams

 

1954 – Born in London, brought up to Edinburgh in 1965.

Studied Drawing and Painting at Edinburgh College of Art 1973-77.

 

Post-college, I briefly door-stepped for house-drawing commissions. During the next decade, rarely exhibiting, I produced figurative work that reflected my personal fears, doubts, and anxieties.

 

Resuming serious painting in 2007, I have continued to work with figures. My subject range has widened, and now includes landscapes and skys, but can still be unsettling. My attachment to representational work, using oil paint or watercolour, remains strong.

 

I live and work in Edinburgh.

 

Development

2020 Open Eye Gallery – Edinburgh – On a Small Scale – invited mixed show

2019 Open Eye Gallery – On a Small Scale

2019 Open Eye Gallery – Solo Show

2019 SSA (Society of Scottish Artists) – Professional Member

2019 SSA Open – selected show

2018 Open Eye Gallery – On a Small Scale

2018 SSA/VAS Open

2017 Open Eye Gallery – On a Small Scale

2017 Union Gallery – Edinburgh – Mixed

2016 SSA

2016 RSA Open (Royal Scottish Academy) – selected

2016 Union Gallery – Edinburgh – ‘Reunion’ – mixed

2015 SSA

2014 VAS (Visual Arts Scotland) – selected

2014 SSA

2014 Union Gallery – Solo show ‘Dark Arcadias’

2013 SSA

2012 Private Commission

2012 SSA

2012 VAS

2011 Private Commission

2011 SSA

2011 Hanover fine arts – Edinburgh – mixed

2009 Hanover fine arts – Edinburgh

2008 Private Commission

2008 Colours gallery – Edinburgh – mixed

 

an interval

 

1984 SSA

1982 SSA

1977-78 House drawing commissions

 

1973-77 Edinburgh College of Art