Les Darlow

I was born in Blackpool, Lancashire in 1961, and trained as a technical and Scientific Illustrator, having now freed myself of the technical preciseness of a photo realistic painting I now paint expressively and creatively, producing paintings that are based on feeling, light, energy and movement. I have a love and passion for weather and landscapes and most of my paintings are subjects that have that connection for me.. I think that one can paint the same scene over and over again as light and weather change the subject continuously.
I love painting skies and think they are the key to a great landscape. I have a fascination for storms and extreme weather, whether that is a sunrise at -20 degrees in winter, a snow storm, a stunning sunset or a growing supercell in the height of summer, these are the key elements to my painting. I really am intrigued by skies and have studied them in some detail having gone to great lengths studying a little meteorology and taking to the sky in a light aircraft to get even more information about their three dimensional depth. Clouds are constantly growing, dissipating, moving and changing.
I feel very blessed as a person and trained as a classical pianist. Music and Art are very much the same. When I learnt to play the piano, it wasn’t until I had taken care of all the theory and the practice that i could actually play the music with feeling and passion. I could dismiss the notation, and concentrate on the emotion of a piece. I believe art very much the same.. I get to understand my subject, have a connection with it, a love for it and I really do study this carefully. As I develop as an artist, I find myself becoming more abstract with my work thinking more about composition, light and the balance of shapes, prefering to eliminate all the detail.colour and this understanding helps me paint them more authentically.
feel very blessed as a person and trained as a classical pianist. Music and Art are very much the same. When I learnt to play the piano, it wasn’t until I had taken care of all the theory and the practice that i could actually play the music with feeling and passion. I could dismiss the notation, and concentrate on the emotion of a piece. I believe art very much the same.. I get to understand my subject, have a connection with it, a love for it and I really do study this carefully. As I develop as an artist, I find myself becoming more abstract with my work thinking more about composition, light and the balance of shapes, prefering to eliminate all the detail.