My name is Dave Simpson. I am an amateur artist and photographer. I work in oils. acrylics and watercolours, and also like trying out mixed media projects. I accept mainly commission work in all types of subject, including painting from photographs and interpreting and reproducing the work of well-known artists. My interests are Shropshire hills, nature, seascapes, and Japanese culture.
I’m a self-taught photographer. For me photography is about curiosity. It is about going beyond simply looking and opening our eyes to the beauty that lies hidden in the everyday. In the patterns formed by a tattered and decaying shop sign, the flower-like symmetry of an arrangement of café tables or the columns and iron lacework of a pier contrasted against a perfectly uniform sea and sky. Everything is interesting if you study it closely enough. Capturing a splinter of space and time in a photographic image allows us to study the detail, the shape and form, the patterns and connections that otherwise we may have been oblivious to. I’m also interested in the ‘ready-made’ images that are all around us. Fragments of urban art, advertisements, neon shop signs and the colourful contours of car bodywork are all recurring themes.
https://www.visualartnetwork.org.uk/members/member/329/Phil-Langstaff
My work is mainly inspired by travel and nature. Landscapes, views, flowers and trees are my most common subjects. Sometimes I am inspired by a small detail – the texture of bark, a shell or an interesting leaf. More recently I am enjoying working on local landscapes, dramatic skies and beautiful views. Initially, I like to use unpredictable media such as inks and dyes. I then use a variety of techniques to add detail from drawing and painting to collage and stitch. I am especially fond of free machine embroidery and use this in much the same ways as I draw.
