I was born in Salford, studied in Leeds and now living in Eccles.
I’ve had over 20 exhibitions in city galleries across the Northwest and my work has also been featured in major exhibitions in the UK and USA. with many paintings belonging to private collections in Germany, Canada, Australia, Spain, Hong Kong, UK, and the USA.
My work covers a wide spectrum of styles and themes and has been reviewed in many publications, including, Art and Artists, BritArt Directory, Artful Reporter, and painter’s TUBES. I’ve appeared on Granada Reports and been interviewed on the local radio station.
I have been painting local people and landscapes for over forty years. My main themes have been Salford Precinct, the Manchester Arndale, and the Northwest countryside.
I have adapted my style over the years to suit the subject matter and to try out new ideas. I started by painting in watercolours before moving to oils and acrylics.
Recently, I have also experimented with digital drawings, using a stylus, on a tablet.
Some of my early cityscapes are now part of history as the fabric of the shops etc. change as well as the fashions.
I have captured the demolition of areas of Salford and the building of the high-rise flats. From pictures of local markets, I progressed over the years to painting the local shopping centre and eventually the Trafford Centre.
Being in isolation for the last few months has been an interesting time. Not being able to get out to sketch and collect images has created a new set of problems.
Initially, I had enough ideas and then started to adapt my images to suit the current situation during the pandemic.
My first paintings focused on the changes taking place in the community, the empty shelves, the queues to get into shops and a picture, for a friend, of their daughter working in a hospital in the full PPE protection.
These images seemed to be my way of reacting to the present situation.
When painting pictures of people sitting on benches, I now see how the interactions, I usually capture, are missing, as people are keeping their distance.
I often wonder how some of these people are coping now.
Another of my topics has been paintings of Buskers and look forward to seeing them out and about again when the lockdown is over.
I have returned to my usual subjects, painting the local landscape in oils and figure studies in acrylic. Due to travel restrictions, I haven’t been able to visit the countryside, and it has made me realise that my feelings for capturing its beauty are stronger.
It is important to visit these places to get away from the busy city life, and I look forward to being able to enjoy them thoroughly as soon as possible.
When I look back in a few years’ time, it will be interesting to see how much these times have influenced my art.
Philip Westcott
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