Austen Pinkerton
If I turn my mind to it very quickly I can come up with several ideas for works …paintings, drawings, or sculptures.
Sometimes ideas come to me when I least expect it, or when my mind is on other things. Ideas can be related to my current experiences, or to my feelings about things that are happening to me in my life at that particular time. Alternatively they can be related to a current interest, or something that occupies my attention at that moment, and my ideas and feelings about which Id like to share with others.
A lot of my work is autobiographical…either directly or indirectly, consciously or subconsciously. It is frequently very personal, and expresses events or circumstances or experiences in my life.
I usually work in either Acrylic on Canvas, Crayon or Pastel, or both together, with Gouache, on card, Drawing in pencil, or Ink, or both, or with creating Sculpture…for which I use fired artists clay. Sculpture follows a completely different set of rules and values from two-dimensional art, obviously, I think of it as Drawing in three dimensions and I take this into account when creating mine. In all my works of art, however, or from whatever, they are made, what they crucially entail, to me, are craftsmanship and beauty, but above all content and meaning.
When I have an idea I execute it, and when I begin to execute it, at least after the initial layout phase, the creation process becomes to some extent automatic, especially the further into the work I get. I dont give a great deal of thought to what I am doing , but probably pay more attention to the music Im listening to than to the creative process ......especially since I very frequently will work on a picture upside down in its later stages. This may explain in part why I frequently do not understand how certain things have appeared in my works.
As a result of this it often happens that when I look at a work again that I’ve made, maybe after several years, that I will be surprised at how it has worked out, at why I did certain things, and especially what the work is ‘about’…i.e. it’s underlying meaning. Often I see the meaning of a work more clearly after coming back to it after many years.
Biography Austen Pinkerton
Austen Pinkerton was born in 1951 in North Harrow, north-west London, and educated locally at Pinner County Grammar School, leaving with nine O ordinary level, and four A advanced level passes.
On leaving school he began study at the Oxford School of Architecture, where he spent the first two years, before it being suggested that he should consider transferring to Art College, as a result of pictures he included in an end of term exhibition.
He then went to Goldsmiths College, London University, School of Art, graduating in 1976 with a Batchelor of Arts Fine Art Painting.
At Goldsmiths School of Art the Principal was Jon Thompson, later mentor to the likes of Damian Hurst, and his tutors included the artists Albert Irvin, Basil Beatty, and Andrew Brighton, later to be curator of public events at Tate Modern. The painting school was in the old Surrey Docks Office building, Rotherhithe, from which there was a burglary, and six of his paintings were stolen and none by any other student to his knowlege. None have ever been recovered.
After leaving Goldsmiths he returned to architecture in order to earn a living and subsequently worked for about 30 years part-time in a variety of Architectural- related fields, whilst continuing to Paint, Draw, and make Sculptures. For a while he was illustrating and designing the interiors of English traditional pubs in this country, and also, later, abroad,... notably Italy, France and Spain. He has also worked on interior refurbishments of the Law Society, and the Royal College Of Surgeons.
Meanwhile he exhibited his work at many galleries in London,…in particular The Blackheath Gallery, Krane arts, the contemporary arts wing of Krane Kalman, also The Talent Store, Graffitti Gallery, Gagliardi Gallery, and, repeatedly, at The Horniman Museum, South London, and the Gloucester Gallery, Kensington, run by Joan Catlin, former Registrar of The Royal College Of Art, and to one of which exhibitions Sir Eduardo Paolozzi visited by invitation to see his work.
Between 1990 and 1996 he opened and ran a gallery in East Dulwich, south London, ..The Austen Pinkerton Gallery , showing his own work. At this time he was commissioned to produce a series of illustrations for the Times Higher Educational Supplement.
He has had numerous private commissions, most notably three very large installed paintings at No 36 Wharton Street, Islington, which began initially with a picture for Major Hamish Forbes, Director of the Museum of the Order of St. John, St. Johns Gate, and former resident of Colditz. When this picture was moved to a new house another was commissioned by the new owner. and the same again when that moved with its owner.
Up until August 2007 he worked part time for the architect Richard Lincoln and also with the Interior Designer Chester Jones on High End Residential properties in central London. Included amongst these was Sir Ridley Scotts house in Hampstead.
Meanwhile he continued to paint, draw, and make sculptures.
From August 2007 to October 2008 he worked part-time for Chistopher Smallwood Architects, Fulham, London, as a Senior Architectural Technician.
As a result of the collapse in the construction industry in 2008 he set up his own business in partnership with the photographer Stephen Street as a general builder, whilst continuing to work as an artist on average two days a week.
Due to a presence on the American website ‘Absolutearts’, and the British website ‘Londonart’, he has to date been offered three exhibitions in the United States, three in the U.K., and exhibitions in Poland and Hong Kong. All the above were offers to participate in large group shows. One exhibition in the USA in North Carolina has so far taken place. He has also contributed to a group exhibition at the Arkhangel gallery in Listowel, Eire.
In 2011 he was offered a two year contract with the Corporate Art branch of the GX fine art Gallery in Camberwell, South London, Since closed.
From late 2011 he began to enter for public competitions, e.g. John Moores, BP Portrait award, Whitechapel Open, R. I. of British Watercolour Artists, Pastel Society, R. I. of British Artists, Cork Street Open, Threadneedle competition, Painter Stainers competition, National Art Open….. and has been shortlisted seven times to date.
In October 2012 his picture ‘The Bay’ was chosen for the Threadneedle Prize competition at the Mall Galleries, Central London.
In February 2013 his large drawing ‘Pentre Ifan’ was chosen for the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize competition, The Mall Galleries, Central London.
In 2011 his biography was included in the Goldmark Gallery two volume publication of artist biographiesBritish Artists Since 1945 by David Buckman. Curiously his to his knowledge entirely unknown large painting Hangliders was listed by Buckman as a Major Work.
In 2013 he moved with his wife Hilary to Narberth, Pembrokeshire, South-West Wales.
In 2014 he was asked to exhibit two sculptures at the Ceri Richards Gallery, Taliesin Center, Swansea University.
In November 2015 he was asked to enter work for the Winter Show at the Ceri Richards Gallery.
From March 2016 he has been participating in shows at the Waterfront Gallery, Milford Haven.
In May 2017 a detailed 1300 word critcal review author unknown of three of his works along with introduction, conclusion, and references was published on the Studentshare website, used by university students, as an example presumably of a Masters Degree essay in Contemporary Art criticism.
This has since appeared on an equivalent student essay website in the USA.
In June 2017 he was asked to participate in the Art On The Faith Trail group exhibition at primarily St Davids Cathedral, and also at Mathry Church, Pembrokeshire.
