16 Artists&Illustrators
Fresh Paint
Adrian Sykes
One can’t help but feel that Merseyside-born painter
Adrian Sykes was better placed than most to cope
artistically with the restrictions imposed by the Covid-
lockdown. His latest exhibition at the Marine House at
Beer in Devon, Imagination Unrestrained, mentions his
ability to capture the “spirit and charm” of northern English
mill towns and Italian holiday hotspots, yet he is able to do
so without the need for anything as restrictive as
reference materials.
“I work 99% of the time from memory,” he explains.
“I find that I can recall the essence of a place more
authentically and without inhibition when I allow my
imagination unrestricted access. A photograph can often
exert a certain tyranny over the imagination that I prefer
to subvert.”
The memories that inspire designs for paintings such
as The Astronomers tend to come while Adrian is doing
something else, such as reading, sketching or listening to
music. “I can be inspired by looking at other works of art
too, although it is then more of an indirect and associative
process. I will always sketch out an idea first and, if it
starts to feel right on a small scale, I know it will work
well as a full painting.”
Adrian begins these larger works by establishing a
rough, unpredictable texture directly onto a blank primed
panel. He does this by mixing white acrylic paint with a
Golden thickening medium, then spreading the mixture
unevenly across the panel with a palette knife.
“It adds interest and sometimes can suggest the way
a composition develops,” he says. Once this layer has set,
he makes a tonal drawing in acrylic to plot the composition
that he then softens with a wash of Van Dyke Brown mixed
with a glazing medium.
Imagination Unrestrained is Adrian’s third solo show at
the Devon gallery since he devoted his attentions to art
full-time in 2017. He was encouraged to do so by several
major prize wins, including the Bath Prize in 2010, as well
as an appearance as a contestant on short-lived BBC
series Show Me the Monet. Prior to that point he had
spent 25 years as a touring musician, most recently with
the “foot-stomping folk” band Sheelanagig.
Yet with a young family at home in Bristol, Adrian
decided to say goodbye to the unsociable hours and
peripatetic lifestyle. “To be honest I’ve not looked back,”
he admits happily. “I’d seen enough of the beautiful
motorways of our congested little country.”
http://www.adriansykes.co.uk