Julian Bailey NEAC

Statement

Julian Bailey’s recent work focuses on the contemporary figure, exploring the meeting up of grouped people in bar and café society. Painted with characteristically long limbs and angular torsos Bailey’s economic use of paint brings out the essential relationships of youthful figures.

He also enjoys painting figures, coastal landscapes and still life in his favourite haunts in Corfu and all over the West Country.

Methodology

Julian Bailey works mainly in oil and gouache. He also makes smaller studies on his trips to London, Bath, and the West Country with his conte pencils. On returning to the studio he will work these drawings up with gouache into smaller paintings. Some of these images Bailey will turn into oil paintings in his studio.

Bailey has been painting almost every day for about thirty years now, and has developed a very concise style, characterised by his ‘drawing in paint’ approach. This leads to very clean and clear colour, painted with considerable impasto, but separated by scraped back patches. The scraping back allows each mark to ‘stand alone’ and the colour to sing out.

Bio

1963   Born in Cheshire, son of the artist Dudley Bailey.

1981   Studied with Patrick Hamilton in Florence, before going to Oxford University and the Ruskin School of Art.

1986    Moved to London for post graduate studies at the Royal Academy Schools.

Painted Notting Hill and Portobello series of works.

1990’s Frequently visited Corfu and Ionian Islands to paint.

1999   Moved to Stinsford, near Dorchester, in Dorset with his wife Sophie, the ceramicist, and their four children.