Malcolm Gillespie Painter

Earth Life 3

Malcolm studied art at Brighton Art College 1960–64 and left with NDD.

He has always painted as much as time would allow, since he was about five years old. In many ways the most significant experience was seeing the film ‘The Horse’s Mouth’ when he was about twelve years old. The idea that realism wasn’t necessarily a photographic result stuck, that there is more reality in the energy and excitement of painting than there is in attempting some faithful copy. He spent the next few years doing ‘John Bratbys’ until he went to art college.

There are two paths Malcolm’s work takes; one is drawing and the other is painting.

Drawing is the study of something that is actually in front of him, a life model, a stone, screwed up paper, a flower, whatever, an object of study, of discipline, of understanding colour and form. It may be charcoal on paper or oil on canvas.

Painting is creating a composition of colour and shapes. Allowing his imagination to be unleashed, letting the painting happen in spite of himself, some creative energy overtakes him and spills out through his arm. He says, “I may think, what is going to happen on that bit of the canvas now? the decision is taken somewhere in my subconcious and the answer just happens.” Paul Klee describes this experience as himself being the trunk of a tree, he ‘does nothing other than gather and pass on what comes to him from the depths.’ — Paul Klee on Modern Art.

Malcolm’s clients come from many parts of the world, including France, South Africa and Canada.

View my website http://www.malcolmgillespie.co.uk/