Loading website of Stuart Fraser
Landscape artist based in the Eden Valley Cumbria
I class myself as an old fashioned Landscape painter with a passion to bring atmosphere and drama to my work, working predominantly in Oils and Acrylics.
Working from photographs, sketches and imagination I look for the “extreme” moments in nature. Steering away from a natural palette, often introducing bolder tones to achieve a unique signature look in each piece.
I have always had a love of drawing and painting, it was one of the few subjects at school I was actually pretty good at. In the working class environment where I grew up in the fifties and sixties the idea of becoming an artist was a little like wanting to be an astronaut, "not a proper job, Young Man". It still did not stop me "day dreaming" of one day becoming a political cartoonist like my hero the great man Giles . Giles was my first window into the world of mark making, I came upon him as a young man while awaiting a haircut, a doctor or a dentist, his books and annuals seemed to be a regular feature in every waiting room in my day. They certainly made an unpleasant experience bearable and I was always sad if my turn came around too quickly.
I have been fortunate to spend the last 30 years working in graphics, web development and print based design. Interestingly, my love of painting was ever present but unfulfilled. Ironically, losing my job in the 2008 financial crash, although painful actually allowed me time to take up the brush and I have never laid it down since. Largely self taught, I decided in 2019 to gain some professional tuition, I started a period of study with the Norfolk Painting School and this has continued throughout 2020, with the current program due to end summer 2021. This has been very illuminating and showed me just how little I really knew. I feel my work has improved greatly, loosening up, with a progressive drift towards post impressionism in my work.
Like most artists, I work from photographs and sketches but only for initial reference, depending thereafter on my own expression. I rarely paint exactly what I see unless I am blessed with the light I crave. Painting for me is all about that moment in time, with an emphasis on strong contrasts between light and dark. This obsession for strong contrasts stems from my numerous train journeys as a youngster to my grandparents in the majestic Scottish highlands, those wondrous journeys left me with a fascination for light and its interaction with the landscape it kisses. .
I strive constantly to keep improving and when that stops, so will I
Growing up in the middle of Cumbria and the Scottish Borders it is hard not to be Inspired
I have always been fascinated by light and shadow, some of my earliest memories were the ever popular Sunday morning family drives into the countryside, this was in the days before petrol became too expensive for such family ventures. The mountains and lakes of Cumbria's Lake District was like an exotic other world compared to the council housing estate where I grew up. And despite now living in the beautiful Eden Valley for over 35 years I still get a buzz every time I see those fells, woodlands and hills
With a name like Stuart James Fraser you might guess that my Father was a Scot and you would be right. He came down to Cumbria from Elgin in the highlands, initialy based here on national servce and then with the railways. On my many train journeys to the far north to visit and spend school holidays with my Grandparents, I could not believe how wild and dramatic the Cairngorms were. Sitting in freezing cold carriages in snowy highland stations with my nose pressed to the window, looking out at that splendid grandeur left strong images in my young brain.
Even then nature held a fascination for me and the wilder and more dramatic the sky the better. I am obsessed by attempting to paint skies, constantly trying to capture the softness and fleeting nature of them. I am always looking for those breaks in clouds that send stabs of light to illuminate the land below, they provide those sharp contrasts of intense greens, blues and rich browns that shine out against the usual muted olive and slate grey of our UK climate, Lightening even the dullest day.
I sign my work under my childhood nickname. In actual fact, while growing up very few people ever called me by my real name or probably even knew of my interest in art. However, my nickname looked (at least to me) as though it might stylise well as a logo Since then it stopped being something I rather disliked and became the nom de plume I have used to sign artwork for many years.
I am a member of the Eden Valley Artist Network, a collective of artists, organisations and venues based in the North Lakes and Eden Valley whose aim is to bring art and local artists to an audience. We have a permanent base at our EVAN Gallery and Studios at 4 Corney Place- Penrith - CA11 7PX - open 10 - 4 Tuesday-Sunday If you are looking to join such an organisation then Evan may be for you.
I am inspired by dramatic skies and how the light interacts with the landscape
It may not be as wild as Scotland or grand like the Alps, but my Cumbria has it all in miniature!. Lakes and mountains, moorland and dales, rugged coasts, timeless valleys and villages where the landscape is largely unspoiled by the marches of time.
It has been an inspiration and home all of my life and I never tire of it. .
Where can you see my work. Information on Galleries, Exhibitions and Events
EVAN Gallery 4 Corney Place- Penrith - CA11 7PX
Castle Framing and Art Gallery -20-22 Front St, Brampton CA8 1NG and 5 Market St, Carlisle (under the iconic Old Town Hall)
Carlisle and Cumbria Artists 52nd Exhibition - 29th July to 15th August 2021 - Open - 10am - 4pm
I am honoured to have been invited to exhibit alongside members of this long standing art club. There will be a wide variety of original paintings for sale including landscapes, figurative and still life work in both contemporary and traditional styles by over 40 Cumbrian artists. Entrance is through the lovely new Cathedral cafe and all proceeds will go to Friends of Carlisle Cathedral.
EVAN Open Studios and Art Trail - 4th -9th and 15th to the19th of September 2021- 10 - 4 daily
I will be opening my new outdoor studio and gallery space at Hillside- Great Corby- CA4 8LT. I look forward to meeting you all and not only showing you some of my paintings but also where and how I work.
All my work is photographed in high definition enabling me to offer superb quality Giclee prints. Printed on either fine art paper or direct to canvas.
The quality and definition from this special 1200 dpi, 12 colour service is really amazing
They are printed by Castle Framing in the small market town of Brampton close to my village, and can be purchased mounted, ready for framing.
If your answer is YES then perhaps a commission could make this a reality.
Commissions are a 2 way process, as we begin the collaboration neccessary to ensure your concept and vision are also mine
. This is the only way I can paint in my particular style, but still stay true to your aspirations
Learn more about starting a commission
I have no connection to any of the artists, I offer them up simply because I have followed them as a lover of contemporary art. I love their use of colour and medium and the imagination to express it creatively.
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I would love to hear from you.
