Inspirational Landscape

Simon Fowler presents recent works of Dartmoor and South West landscapes produced in his traditional and highly accomplished style.

Having recently moved to Devon, Dartmoor and the surrounding landscapes have proven an abundant source of new inspiration. New scenes have also led to new practice and Simon has found a transition from canvas to board, with the addition of a new range of Italian pigments to his stock of oils, has added a new vibrancy to his work allowing him to push his colour palette to new levels.

Coming from a family of artists it was at a young age that Simon discovered a passion for drawing, painting and creative endeavour. Starting with oils in his early teens under the instruction of his Grandfather, a prolific and well-established Bristol artist, he benefitted from instruction from a wide array of family members, producing across ceramics, sculpture and woodcarving as well painting in a variety of mediums. Their experience and knowledge would be invaluable and today Simon is endowed with a significant artistic talent of his own as a result of this early tuition.

Now 59, Simon has painted continuously all his life endlessly inspired by the great outdoors where he has spent most of his adulthood. A caver for 35 years on the Mendips and a keen motorcyclist and angler has built a connection with the landscape which he now cannot help but express in his work. A further 12 years spent boat building and restoring mostly wooden boats, lead to wood carving and sculpture for a long period. For the past 25 years, after training in forestry, woodland management and horticulture, he now works as a garden designer, offering a new exploration for his creativity on a grand scale.

"I feel I have a strong bond with the landscape we live in and I try to reflect that in my art."