Gordon King
Painting has been my life for as long as I can remember. Having won numerous competitions as a child I went on to study Life Drawing at Reading University Art School, then trained as a figurative illustrator at the prestigious Carlton Studios in London. Following my National Service in Paris as a Draughtsman in the Royal Signals (where I still managed to spend most of my time painting) I spent the next few years working freelance, illustrating for national magazines, books and advertising agencies as well as doing portrait commissions. I had my first one-man show in 1971, opened by the late Sid James, and subsequently exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colour. My first national best selling print ‘My Fair Lady’ was published in 1983 and I have now been in print for over 30 years with numerous one-man shows. In 1999, to celebrate my 60th birthday, my second book ‘Drawn to Life’ was published featuring paintings from my exhibition at the Halcyon Gallery in the ICC, Birmingham. That same year I was voted ‘Published Artist of the Year’ by the Fine Art Trade Guild and had a painting accepted into the Singer & Friedlander Sunday Times Watercolour Competition. Charitable projects have included Save the Children with HRH The Princess Royal, who also wrote the foreword to my first book ‘A Romance with Art’; BBC’s Children in Need Appeal; a portrait of Sir Norman Wisdom on the Black Watch Cruise Ship in aid of the RNLI, and three limited editions of Darcey Bussell in aid of the Alzheimer’s’ Society
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF
I love an early start to the day, up in my studio looking out across the village of Chalfont St Peter in the Buckinghamshire countryside with my first cup of black coffee in my hand, pottering around cleaning out my water pots and tidying up a bit. Once I begin work I have several paintings on the go – perhaps the final details on a large oil, or planning a new watercolour or a portrait in progress. I like having a background of radio talk, some of which I take in, much of which I miss, as I tend to become totally absorbed in what I’m doing. By 9 o’clock the mail will have arrived, the phone starts ringing and I am on my second cup of coffee having a quick look at the papers. A model might be arriving shortly when I will try various poses in the studio, sketching away until I settle on the one to paint. Lunch is usually a quick snack but sometimes I’m tempted by the village pub. Depending on the weather, in the afternoon we may move into the garden to find a different background – some stone steps, a hanging basket, always looking for something special.
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