Exhibition by Geoff Powell

Geoff Powell was born in Bridgend, South Wales. Resident in London in the 60s/70s the events of which triggered his painting career, he has lived and worked in South Devon for the last 28 years.

Being a self-taught painter Geoff has been able to escape the ideas and limitations of formal teachers, thereby enabling him to find his unique style of painting and drawing which explores the joys and fears of humankind. Using acrylic paint, he works directly onto the canvas, without any pre-drawing. He finds starting a work easy, knowing when to stop is the difficulty.

He has learned much by watching other artists at work and from the words of those he considers masters of art such as Mark Rothko: "A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive beholder. It dies by the same token. It is therefore a risky and unfeeling act to send it into the world."

Geoff feels that it is worth the risk, as do collectors of his work. People ask him what his paintings mean and why some are untitled. His reply is: " To name some of my paintings would limit the viewer's response. They mean whatever the viewer sees in them. But that individual meaning must not be seen as the artist's intention." He signs his paintings on the reverse as he sees a signature on the front as a blemish.

For more information visit http://www.chelstongallery.co.uk/30720/info.php?p=3&pno=0