Leo Davey
For the first of 2020's featured artist we're showcasing the work of Minehead-based painter Leo Davey
Leo Davey studied at Falmouth College of Art, before spending time in London, and finally settling in Minehead in 2006. Leo has won numerous awards including 1st prize at The Sunday Times Watercolour Competition in 2019 and the competition’s Smith & Williamson Cityscape Prize in 2015. His work is collected extensively and shown in galleries across the U.K. Leo’s meticulous aesthetic in watercolour has recently made way for a more abstracted visual approach in oil. The Exmoor landscape that continues to inspire is described in more vivid tones, applied with speed over many layers to satisfy the eye of the artist. But the underlying structure, built up using a variety of marks as seen in the watercolours, is still present in these bold new works.
Looking ahead Leo will be doing a series of paintings of Birds in boxes for Somerset Open Studios 2020.
Below is an interview Leo did with Louis Wise for The Sunday Times about his 1st prize win for the painting ‘Condensation‘:
What was the inspiration for your picture?
“Condensation” was inspired by a family member. I like that it’s genderless and wouldn’t want to give that away by calling it “boy” or “Girl in Shower”. I love the way the bottom 2 rows of tiles are not in sync with the top 7 rows and the reflected window, also slightly off set, echo this. It gives a sense of unease. There is a simultaneous strength and fragility in the painting and it’s full of incidental symbolism and contrast.
Have you tried this subject matter before?
Does it represent your work in a more general way?
“Condensation” is not typical of my work. The bulk of my painting is landscape based. Living on the edge of Exmoor provides me with a wealth of richly diverse subject matter but that’s not to say that landscape is where my interests end. Recent works have included museum interiors, collections, bridges and a Bangkok cityscape. There is not a lot I won’t attempt to paint and do like to get fully immersed in a project. I will often spend months at a time on a single painting. I love a challenge – the more complex and more difficult a subject is to translate into a painting the better.
How do you feel about the medium? What are its pros and cons?
As there is little texture or varied surface within watercolour it’s a perfect medium for reproduction so as an illustration student it was my go to medium. I now consider texture and surface an important element in my original works so will often apply various other media to give diversity to the painting’s surface including black Indian Ink, coloured pencil and even oil paint – not sure what watercolour purists would make of that?
Leo is always happy to have visitors come to his studio so do drop in and say Hi!
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