Brendan Webster | Profile
As an artist I paint and draw..
I was brought up in London and went on to gain a Bachelor's degree at Surrey University and a Doctorate at Imperial College. I have lived and worked in Italy and Australia but most of my adult life has been in Weymouth. I have contributed to the local community as a borough councillor for four years, holding Briefs for 'Culture, Tourism and Community Facilities' and for 'Environment and Sustainability'.
Gallery: Brendan Webster
More Information About Brendan
I live in Weymouth and have wanted to pursue painting and drawing more intensively for some time. This ambition has been partially subjugated by the need to earn a living, but always present. At school I won prizes but was then thrown out of the art class for being disruptive and undertook engineering drawing instead. This I found valuable in many ways and it has helped with 3D visualisation and the ability to rotate objects in my mind.
I picked up “art” again as my family matured. I joined art clubs and undertook a series of art courses in England and Australia. Just to mention a few, in Australia I studied portraiture with Gary Lee Gaston and joined many lively life drawing groups in Adelaide. I joined the Royal South Australian Society of Arts and regularly drew with their sketch club and exhibited too. In England I have undertaken courses at the Putney School of Art and elsewhere.
I am developing a few lines of interest: portraits, life (figure), conceptual & social comment, landscape with human connection. I find people ceaselessly interesting. I am always fascinated by people as visual subject matter. I can look intensely at models or sitters, which is something one cannot do in ordinary circumstances. I find myself wondering what it is that makes them tick, what it would feel like to be that person; how are they physically arranged. I have to add that I generally enjoy meeting people and hearing their views about almost anything – it helps if they have an enthusiasm for something. People can be hard work, some more than others; but provided one survives, even difficult encounters generally expand experience.
I hope to move toward some form of representation of topics of social interest. For me art is about expressing moods and ideas. However, ultimately I will go where the spirit leads.