Richly textured surfaces of paint, full of energy and movement and alive with vivid colour, reveal the expressive nature of Stephen Bishop’s art. His subjects are wide ranging: Dorset landscapes and seascapes, Spanish villages, London riverscapes, nudes and flamenco dancers - it is fitting that his creativity should also express itself through his own participation in flamenco.

Landscape painting on location has a particular importance; it is here where his vision is most acutely captured. By placing himself directly in the landscape and working in all weathers he empathises with place and reveals his experience gathered over hours of intense activity. In powerful colour that feels like the heat of the sun, or sweeping gestures of the palette knife that evoke the force of a gale Bishop’s paintings always carry atmospheric resonance strongly.

The painting process is highly animated, fast, impassioned. The surface deliberately contains the evidence of its own making; marks, strokes and slabs are made with large painting tools, he favours palette knives that allow a greater feeling for modelling heavy oil paint. Throughout the action of the painting process he is careful to remain attuned to the character of the subject.

Bishop’s paintings draw the viewer in to a profound relationship with the natural environment; they have a solidity that conveys a sense of the durability of nature. The paintings exude life and creativity and are an affirmation of our connection to the rhythm and energy of the natural world.

Bishop trained at Berkshire College of Art and Design. Spending periods of time during the 1980’s living in London and briefly in Andulucia, he eventually settled in Dorset in 1988. He has exhibited extensively across the South West in galleries and art centres. In the 1990’s in London he was a finalist in both the Windsor and Newton Young Artist Award at The Mall Galleries and The BP Portrait Award at The National Portrait Gallery. Recently he has held a solo exhibition at Highgate Gallery, London and has participated in group exhibitions at The Architects Gallery and Webbs Road Gallery in London.