PATRICK PALMER
Since gaining a diploma from Heatherley's School of Art in Chelsea and another at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, Patrick Palmer has already exhibited in London, Oxford, Hong Kong and France and has been awarded with a number of prizes. He has received extensive personal tuition from a close friend of Francis Bacon and a senior lecturer at The Royal Academy.
His paintings are exclusively of people - portraits and nudes - "I don't want to compete with the beauty of nature," explains Patrick.
He cites his influences as including Degas, Rembrandt, Monet and Velasquez, as well as some modern British artists such as Shaun Ferguson, Jenny Saville, Conor Harrington, Adam Neate and Michael Clark.
Of his work, Patrick says: "Whilst an element of realism is important, I try to move beyond artistic convention and avoid an image that is too predictable. Realism is not enough - what you take away and what you add to what you see are what transform a picture into art. The decisions and selections you make allow you to express the personality into a picture and this distinguishes it from mere photographic representation."
