ANDREW BARROWMAN

Andrew has had an interest in drawing from an early age and followed this up by attending a technical illustration course at Mid Warwickshire College of FE after leaving school. He then began using watercolours and became interested in wildlife and landscape painting which was less restrictive than the technical aspects of the illustration course at college. However, he was offered a job in an art studio doing paste-up work and black and white illustration for advertising and took it, gaining valuable experience. After three years he was made redundant because of the pace of computer change in the industry and an opportunity arose to go back to college doing wildlife illustration in Carmarthenshire .

This was a great move and gave him the time to go out painting from life and move into acrylics and oil paintings on a larger scale. He finished the course as student of the year, passing with distinction. During this period he met many artists and was invited to work with a book illustrator on several projects and a mural artist at Machynlleth centre for alternative energy.

After leaving college he stayed on in Wales illustrating books and was Artist in Residence for the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Llandeilo in 1995. For this project (commissioned by The Arts Council of Wales) he worked in eight primary schools and each one producing a mural depicting the wildlife in their location, such as red kites flying above the Towy valley, otters swimming in the local river or deer roaming the Welsh countryside. At this time, his wife was offered a job in Mullion so a move to Cornwall ensued and this new rugged landscape inspired several exhibitions at Falmouth Art Centre, joint exhibitions with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and projects with other artists. He has also exhibitied at Helston Folk Museum in June 2008, at the Royal Cornwall Show, the Black Swan Gallery in Frome and Cox’s Gallery in Stratford on Avon showing his ‘Cornwall inspired’ paintings. He was commissioned to paint murals for Mullion Comprehensive and to work with the children at St Keverne PC School on two murals.

After taking a break from serious painting for a few years to help look after the children, his enthusiasm has returned and he is out and about on the coast painting again. The new work on show is an exploration of the surrounding Helston area and The Lizard.