Me and my Art
Hi. I am Stuart Lake. I live in Widnes, Cheshire, U.K. Allthough Cheshire is a beautiful area of England Widnes can be a somewhat gritty and industrialised town. Many of the people who live here do not seam to appreciate how beautiful much of our surroundings are, and how lucky we are to have the industrial heritage, history, and the rivers and waterways that we have on our doorstep. We are next to the tidal River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal. I like to paint views of these because I very much appreciate and love where I live, and I hope to encourage others to enjoy the unique qualities of our area, and the abundance that can be found in the everyday mundane if we open our eyes instead of taking our local areas for granted.
The river has an ever-changing, raw natural beauty and an unyealding inevitability that I find exeptional and inspirational. Reflections dance and shimmer with surreal distortions from the tide and wind rippled surface. When the sun shines it is as though uncountable shining jewls are constantly appearing and dissapearing all over the surface in a cosmic dance of energy and life. I feel at ease and spiritually at home by the river. For as long as I can remember I have all ways had a love for being near water deep within me. It is even in my name!
The scale of the river here is surprising. It can be a kilometre wide or more at high tide. The tidal range is large, around 8 meters or 26 feet on a spring tide. In the UK only the Severn estury has a larger tide. The strength of the water flow can be exhilarating and intimidating. There are tidal bores and unimaginable shifts in sand bars and river channels on bigger tides. I am in awe of rivers unshakable, unbreakable power.
Gallery1 is my River Mersey and Manchester Ship Canal paintings. Gallery2 has some unrelated artwork that I wished to share, including some yoga and meditation paintings.
I am self taught as an artist. It has been a passion of mine, and one of my escapes from the material world throughout my adult life. Recently I have had some health and mobility issues after having type 1 diabetes for over 40 years. This has thankfully given me more time to focus and concentrate on my painting.
I mostly paint with soft pastels and pastel pencils. I use UNISON COLOUR Handmade soft patels. These are UK made and beautiful to use. I have STABILO CarbOthello and CARAN D'ACHE pastel pencils for detail work. I like to use Mi-Teintes Touch pastel and mixed media paper. The paper is made from crushed pumice and velvet and takes the powdered pigments of pastels very well. While these items may not all be the most reasonably priced, the quality is very high. All these items come highly recomended by myself and other artists.
Original art works and commissions are available to purchase, Supplied framed and mounted if required. Frames around A2 size, Most pictures A3 size, although there is some variation to this. Prices are in the range of £200 to £300. Paintings can be collected from Widnes, Cheshire or shipping can be arranged.
If you have any enquiries, or if you have any issues with the functionality of this website please email myself at stu@stuartlake.co.uk