Harry Bell
Born and brought up in the Bensham area of Gateshead, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the majority of Harry’s work should find its source in the urban environment. The play of light on buildings attracts him and he often uses the effects of light and shadow to make paintings underpinned by strong abstract compositions. That, along with his travels abroad, have had a profound effect on his sense of colour.
Although the work continues to be figurative, it is not been untouched by Modernism, and Bell finds a playful approach to perspective attractive where he see that the picture demands it.
‘Although I occasionally draw and paint from the subject, I see that only as a way of maintaining hand to eye co-ordination and securing a continued connection with the world outside the studio. Primarily a studio-based artist, most of my work starts with my own photographs.
As I’ve always done, I continue to live in Gateshead.’
