PETER QUINN: VOYAGES
15th October - 20th November 2021
Boulevard Malesherbes, Paris, 2020, watercolour
Peter Quinn paints watercolour subjects that he finds on his travels. Attracted to the urban and the out-of-the-way, his paintings offer a brightly-coloured and personal response. Peter carries sketchbooks and a camera on his explorations. Often the subject presents itself immediately: a busy boat yard, an elegant avenue, a jumble of pots and plants on a doorstep or a packed shop display. Peter's watercolours are produced back in his studio in Newcastle: pencil drawings followed by an admittedly haphazard and occasionally experimental painting technique.
Rue Rambuteau, Paris, 2020, watercolour
'Painting starts with a walk. Walking is suitably slow: bicycles or cars speed you to your destination too efficiently. The walk might be pre-organised and follow a set route; I may have done some research and have notes and a map with me. More likely the walk is more like a meander, a stroll with some purpose and the subject matter of the painting is something discovered en route. I will have a small sketchbook with me and a camera. I may use paints but more likely pens or an automatic pencil, to scribble an impression. I use a digital camera and take many photographs to aid recall and to give some idea of colour, texture and detail.
The painting is assembled in the studio where there are preparatory drawings and false starts. I tend to work on several paintings at once moving them on and off a high worktable. I stand to paint. Some things I keep the same: the paper for instance, stretched on a board with a clear edge ruled at the sides. Other aspects of painting I change so often that I really do not have any set way of getting from the beginning to the end of a painting. Watercolour paintings disclose the history of their own making, the uncertainties, corrections and serendipities.'
- Peter Quinn in Watercolour Secrets, 2014, Edited by Jill Leman RWS, published by The Royal Watercolour Society
Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 2021, watercolour
Born in Dumfries, Scotland Peter studied at Glasgow School of Art. His interests in art history led to a PhD at The University of Sunderland. A member of the Royal Watercolour Society, Peter's work is often on show at Bankside Gallery on London's South bank. A regular participant in national open exhibitions, Peter has over the years exhibited in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cockermouth, London and Malta. In 2019 his exhibitions in Malta were celebrated in the book Quinn in Malta, edited by the late Peter Apap Bologna. Currently Peter is the chair of the Bewick Society and a regular lecturer with the Explore Lifelong Learning programme.
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