Colin Chapman

A brief synopsis of my creative life to date..

I graduated from Art School in 1990 with a BA(Hons) in Fine Art painting at Staffordshire University under the tutelage of Terry Shave. I then moved to Derry in Northern Ireland and started working for the North West Artist’s Association as an administrator to work with local artists and children’s workshops in conjunction with the Orchard Gallery. My role was Arts Council funded and also gave me a free studio space to carry on painting. After a couple of years I’d built up a body of work to have a one person show at the City Library. It was great experience though sadly the funding was removed and employment became tough so I returned to Peterborough to start work in an art shop. Work and family commitments consumed my time and aside from the odd commission, some mural painting and various crafting exploits, I hadn’t found a way back to painting until a few years ago. I’m now fully focused on painting as much as possible and have been encouraged by how much work I’ve sold in the last 18 months. I use paint and colour in a bold expressive way, my work is figurative with abstract elements and my subject matter is predominantly drawn from musicians on stage . I work mainly in acrylics and integrate spray paint and stencils on occasion to create various textures and surfaces in the paint. I also love drawing in charcoal in an expressive style with the subjects being figures and animals. Although much of my work is intuitive and gestural I do find it important to engage in the discipline of looking whether in life drawing or portraiture. I can’t paint without listening to the likes of Miles Davis or John Coltrane.

I have had my own bespoke framing business since 2009, Complete Framing in Woodston and my studio is in the back of the workshop. I welcome visitors at any time to see finished work and work in progress.