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“Art, love and passion are very closely related.
Because they all hinge more or less on realisation of beauty in
some form or other, or in its pleasure- taking. And the
intoxication is exquisite." (Max
Beckmann)
An English artist, Steve Bonner is well known in
the UK for his watercolour landscapes, his oil paintings of
marine, figure and portrait subjects, and as a muralist and
Trompe L'oeil artist. Steve was born in Huntingdonshire, England
in 1951. Drawing and painting since he was able to hold a brush
or crayon, it's surprising Steve didn't yearn for a formal art
school education, choosing instead to become a display artist
for a major department store chain, now the Harrods group.
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Window dressing however, wasn't for him but it did
lead to exploring the many associated trades and skills, from
screen-printer to sign-writer, graphic artist and poster artist
- and it was as a poster artist that Steve spent most of his
working life: 'working life' being the way he describes the
years he spent doing what he thought he had to do - before he
realised he didn't! He spent many of those years producing the
hand-painted marketing material for the top night clubs in
London and the South East of England. Whilst he remains proud of
the heavily illustrated work he produced in those days it became
monotonous - although he is the first to admit that the
accompanying lifestyle was far from it. From the artistic point
of view those years were far from wasted. His graphic
background, although not as easily discernable as it once was,
is still present in his most recent work, and his unashamed
hedonism still shines through delightfully in his unique and
highly individual style.
As the years went by, the industry was constantly
becoming increasingly computerised and rather than abandon his
paint brushes, it became clear that, little by little, life was
pushing towards one vocation. |
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Steve
had flirted with fine art in his late twenties when a tour of
Europe eventually led to Paris. With inspiration on every
boulevard painting was inevitable and the work started to flow
and almost as importantly, to sell. It would be interesting to
speculate why he turned away from art back then. “I'm ashamed
to say I wasn't prepared to go without,” he says, “Establishing
oneself as a professional artist, rather than just a hobbyist,
is hard graft, it's a struggle – I was young, single and,
frankly, I had other things on my mind. The frightening thing
about life is that if you don't do what you know you should –
it'll find a way to make you!” |
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So by the late-nineties he
had decided to concentrate on fine art: that it was all or
nothing. And it's often been next to nothing: life for many
professional painters is a mixture of success and struggle, but
it is a good life, and one he wouldn't swap for the world.
Whilst Steve's work
adorns the walls of many beautiful homes all over the world he
cheerfully admits, that to the best of his knowledge, it has
never been purchased as an investment by a pension fund or
insurance company. "I can't think of a worse fate for any
serious painter" he's on record as saying, "I paint my
work to be seen, to be enjoyed, to brighten up some-ones home,
that's the measure of my success as a artist. I don't
spend weeks on a painting to have it moulder somewhere in a
crate in the hope that it will increase in value. I'd rather
leave that to the many contemporary artists whose work should be
mouldering in crates!" He resents the fact that the
galleries are often asked if his work will increase in value
"Buy it because you love it" he says, "That's the
only reason there should ever be for investing in a painting
and, as with anything you truly love, it will repay your
investment ten fold!" |
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He is often referred to as a
realist. “It might look that way at first glance” he says,
“but in fact I'm more of an impressionist. Obviously not in
the accepted sense, my style is vastly different, but certainly
in as much as I seek to convey the impression not the reality.
Take for example a piece of work in this show in Barbados,
'Chalky Mount'. It looks, I hope you'll agree, exactly like
Chalky Mount. When I started to paint it it I sat at the easel,
surrounded by my photographic reference, drew it out, checked
it, and thought to my self “It doesn't look like that – no
way!” The problem is that the camera doesn't lie and the
photographs I was working from show it exactly as it is.
When you actually stand at
the foot of that huge great rock your senses are aware of much
more than the reality.
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Your senses register awe,
majesty, magnificence – all of which are lost in the
photograph – my job is to put that back, so my painting isn't
as it actually is – it's as you see it. To some extent or
other I do this with all my work – beaches, mountains,
portraits; especially portraits – I believe it is an error
many portrait painters make. They simply paint what the subject
looks like – not who they are! ”
Asked if he regrets being
self taught and missing out on an art school education he
explains that he considered applying in his mid-thirties as a
mature student. "I actually consulted my old art master! He
looked at my work and said, 'Don't do it! They won't be able to
teach you anything about colour, or paint handling, and you'll
spend all day arguing with your tutors.' Sure, I'd like to know
where my art might have gone, had I been to art school in my
youth. But then again it's been my own journey. For better or
worse my painting is just that - it's mine - nobody else's
ideas, nobody else's concept of what constitutes 'good art' -
and do you know what? I'm happy with that."
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Steve is available for commissions – portraits especially
– but don't be surprised if you find him following you around
for a day, snapping away happily. It's all part of the 'knowing'
the sitter ethos that he believes is so important in a good
portrait. Contact him via this website.
Top: The Studio
Second right above: The new figure
series on exhibition.
Third left above: Turn of the Tide. Oil
on Canvas.
Right: Into the rain. Oil on Canvas. |
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