A graduate of Southport Art School in the 1950’s, Brian Lewis set up his own studio workshop following retiring from a long career as a senior academic at John Rigby Grammar School in Wigan. Dividing his time between mixed media sculpture, whose “results are a combination of an idea and the dictates of the material” and painting (“inspired by whatever life presents to me at the time”), Brian has since gone on to also exhibit extensively across the North West.
His ambitious 12ft wide triptych on show at The Atkinson takes its inspiration from Southport’s iconic vintage open-air Sea Bathing Lake that was once a popular attraction of the resort: “Nearly everything begins with drawing. Occasionally I take a photograph using this as a reminder of a place or object but then through preparatory drawings and the progression of the painting, hopefully something very different evolves. If I’m happy with the result, I will exhibit it, if not the canvas is painted over and saved for another day.”
