Liam Spencer was born in Burnley, Lancashire, in 1964 and attended Manchester Polytechnic from 1983 till 1986 where he gained a BA (Hons.) degree in Fine Art.
Between 1987 and 1990 he worked as a life-drawing tutor with Manchester Artists Studio Association, Cosgrove Hall Animation Studios, and Whitworh Art Gallery.
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He also worked as drawing tutor at Blackpool and Flyde College and taught at numerous workshops in galleries and libraries throughout Greater Manchester, including a spell as ‘Children’s Workshop tutor at the Castlefield Gallery. During 1990 he had residencies at Broken Cross Primary School, Macclesfield, and the Tattenhall Centre, Chester.
Liam works on a relatively small scale, creating images of objects and landscapes around him, or those which have personal associations. His still-life paintings are based on objects in the studio, and his dramatic townscapes often depict the urban stretch of the Rochdale canal as it passes through the centre of Manchester.
From car headlights piercing the gloomy rain swept nights on the Mancunian Way, to Victorian redbrick railway arches, factories and workshops glowing in the sunlight, Liam captures the seasons and shifting weather conditions with an individual and vibrant palette.
What makes looking at Liam Spencer’s paintings today so refreshing is that they very simply and confidently belong to that rarest of traditions – the tradition of good painting.
Bridget Riley
Artist’s statement:
I like the idea of uncovering beauty in the mundane and everyday. I am intrigued by the ‘magic’ of painting the way in which patches of colour work directly from the subject, whether it be a landscape or still-life, but I do not copy nature – but instead translate and interpret it.
The way in which a subject changes continuously when painting outdoors fascinates me: the sun goes out, the tide comes in, shadows move and lengthen – and hence the objects being painted also move. The finished painting is often an amalgam of different moments, and involves a degree of improvisation.
I never wish to fool the viewer into believing that they are looking at the real thing. The surface of the paint is very obvious in my work and I enjoy exploring its versatility from thick, buttery impastos to thin washes of watercolour-like luminosity.
Recent visits to Spain and Cornwall have influenced my landscape style but the most important influence is light and, particularly, the way in which sunlight can transform the familiar and mundane into exciting subjects for painting. A fine sunny day never fails to have an uplifting effect on me and I’d be delighted if looking at my paintings could produce a similar result for the onlooker.
As with any art form, painting strives to condense experience. After all, a couple of square feet isn’t much space in which to communicate a landscape.
Liam Spencer
Liam Spencer was born in Burnley, Lancashire, in 1964 and attended Manchester Polytechnic from 1983 till 1986 where he gained a BA (Hons.) degree in Fine Art.
Between 1987 and 1990 he worked as a life-drawing tutor with Manchester Artists Studio Association, Cosgrove Hall Animation Studios, and Whitworh Art Gallery.
Read full bio
He also worked as drawing tutor at Blackpool and Flyde College and taught at numerous workshops in galleries and libraries throughout Greater Manchester, including a spell as ‘Children’s Workshop tutor at the Castlefield Gallery. During 1990 he had residencies at Broken Cross Primary School, Macclesfield, and the Tattenhall Centre, Chester.
Liam works on a relatively small scale, creating images of objects and landscapes around him, or those which have personal associations. His still-life paintings are based on objects in the studio, and his dramatic townscapes often depict the urban stretch of the Rochdale canal as it passes through the centre of Manchester.
From car headlights piercing the gloomy rain swept nights on the Mancunian Way, to Victorian redbrick railway arches, factories and workshops glowing in the sunlight, Liam captures the seasons and shifting weather conditions with an individual and vibrant palette.
What makes looking at Liam Spencer’s paintings today so refreshing is that they very simply and confidently belong to that rarest of traditions – the tradition of good painting.
Bridget Riley
Artist’s statement:
I like the idea of uncovering beauty in the mundane and everyday. I am intrigued by the ‘magic’ of painting the way in which patches of colour work directly from the subject, whether it be a landscape or still-life, but I do not copy nature – but instead translate and interpret it.
The way in which a subject changes continuously when painting outdoors fascinates me: the sun goes out, the tide comes in, shadows move and lengthen – and hence the objects being painted also move. The finished painting is often an amalgam of different moments, and involves a degree of improvisation.
I never wish to fool the viewer into believing that they are looking at the real thing. The surface of the paint is very obvious in my work and I enjoy exploring its versatility from thick, buttery impastos to thin washes of watercolour-like luminosity.
Recent visits to Spain and Cornwall have influenced my landscape style but the most important influence is light and, particularly, the way in which sunlight can transform the familiar and mundane into exciting subjects for painting. A fine sunny day never fails to have an uplifting effect on me and I’d be delighted if looking at my paintings could produce a similar result for the onlooker.
As with any art form, painting strives to condense experience. After all, a couple of square feet isn’t much space in which to communicate a landscape.
Gallery
