Exhibited work:
I have received many prestigious commissions and have also shown my work widely across a range of exhibitions which include the following:
Kingston School of Art
The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition
The New English Art Club
The Royal Institute of Watercolourists
The Royal Society of Marine Artists The Royal Institute of British Architects
The Society of Architectural Illustrators WH Patterson Gallery - Venice in Peril Exhibition
A View of Venice in Watercolour - Solo Exhibition Riverside Gallery, Barnes Burgh House Auction, UNICEF Ukraine Appeal 2022
The Russell Gallery - mixed Christmas and Summer Exhibitions 2016 - 2023
Peter Hughes BA Hons D Arch (Kingston) FRSA
Gallery
Africa & Indian Ocean
Animals
Architectural Work
Birds
Christmas Card Watercolours
Europe
Portraits
Still Life & Flowers
Watercolours
UK
About Me
Background:
I am a Painter and retired Architect living in West London. I was born in Leigh-on-Sea where I grew up. I was first taught drawing and painting by my mother Dulcie, who later became my school Art teacher. I have lasting and vivid memories of my childhood enjoying sport, sailing and life by the sea. I still have family in Leigh-on-Sea and always enjoy making return visits.
I studied at Kingston School of Art in South West London which continues to be a hot bed for the Creative Arts, Architecture, Product Design, Graphic Design, Fashion and Fine Art. I found this experience stimulating and I formed many lasting friendships.
I was offered my first job as an Assistant Architect working with Manning Clamp & Partners, an established and well-respected Practice on Richmond Green. This experience gave me a great insight into the necessary skills required to practise as an Architect. At that time the rents were favourable so there were a number of other Architects’ offices located around Richmond Green. There was also an extra ‘competitive edge’ as we would play inter-office cricket matches in the evenings on The Green, before retiring later for refreshments at the ‘Princes Head’.
I then travelled in the USA before returning to join Shepherd Epstein & Hunter Architects in Kingly Street, where I met my future wife Vanessa who became my most supportive and perceptive critic.
As an Architect I worked for over 20 years as Partner and later Design Director with Devereux & Partners, a young expanding Practice in Putney, South West London. Throughout my career as an Architect I have used my drawing and design skills to illustrate and explore ideas and design proposals on a variety of interesting projects, masterplans and competitions.
Although I am a figurative Painter, my approach is not to copy exactly what is in front of me as I am not seeking to achieve realism. I am interested in tone, colour and the effect of light on a subject, to create mood and atmosphere. I often find one of the greatest challenges is deciding what to leave out of the painting. I always start with a small study in either oil or watercolour. If this shows some promise, I might try a larger version or change the composition. I often explore three or four studies of the same subject before moving on to a larger scale.
I have found inspiration from a group of Artists who collectively form The New English Art Club. A number of these Artists, who are also Royal Academicians, exhibited their work at The New Grafton Gallery. Often with notebook in hand, I would visit this wonderful gallery in Barnes where I first met Sarah Russell who now has her own gallery, The Russell Gallery. The exceptional quality of work on show was a great inspiration to me and helped me understand much more about painting.
Watercolour painting:
I have been painting in watercolour for many years and enjoy the immediacy of the medium which is compact and ideal for travel.
Generally I prefer to work on a small scale. The Artists I admire most (Turner, Constable and Cotman), often produced work of great quality on a small scale. I am also interested in work that is seemingly effortless and appears to have been carried out at speed. I now realise that such work is underpinned by years of experience and requires great skills to achieve these results.
Watercolour is a wonderful medium, but it can also be very frustrating, so some advanced planning is crucial. I find it is easy to overwork a watercolour and knowing when to stop is important.
Oil Painting:
When I first started painting in oils, I found the whole process quite daunting. Compared with the direct simplicity of watercolour, oil painting seemed to be shrouded in a layer of complexity.
The process involves pigments, resins, mediums, gels, grounds, supports etc. Quite soon I became fascinated by the medium and I began to realise that there is a logical method to oil painting which once understood, makes life easier.
I read books, visited many exhibitions and watched live oil painting demonstrations. In my studio I produced hundreds of small 6” x 4” oil studies on prepared hardboard to experiment and learn about the process. I also spoke to many Artists, visited their studios and always found they were very friendly, helpful and generous with their time.
At the New Grafton Gallery I once met Ken Howard RA who kindly invited me to his wonderful studio in Kensington. He encouraged me to start painting in oils and gave me a small prepared canvas to get started!
It was many years before I felt any oil painting I produced was worthy of framing. The first oil painting I had framed was a portrait of my late father John Hughes which he accepted graciously.
This phase was very important as it helped me to learn about composition, technique, tone, colour and the application of paint. Slowly I was able to unravel the process and to a certain extent demystify oil painting.
Following in the tradition of oil painting, my approach is to build up the painting in successive layers on a neutral grey mid-toned ground which helps unify the painting and makes it easier to establish the lights and darks. I try to maintain the freshness of the early stages and also reveal something about the process of creating the picture.
It has often been said that tenacity, perseverance and determination are the three most important skills required to become a Painter and I would agree with this. Some inspiration and talent is certainly helpful but without the effort, talent alone is not enough.
As an Architect I developed a resilience and an ability to accept that along with success there are also disappointments, with projects often being delayed or grinding to a halt for a variety of reasons. Also losing a competition can be extremely frustrating.
There are times when work is rejected by a gallery or in an open competition. Also a finished painting often falls short of the Artist’s own expectations and so it is important to move on to the next painting to learn from your mistakes.
Enquiries:
I hope my work is of interest to you and if you have any enquiries or would like to contact me to discuss anything, please use the form below.
All paintings are originals and unframed with size and price indicated.
I am happy to accept commissions depending upon the subject matter.
5% of all sales will be donated to the Maggie Centres at Maggie’s, registered charity number: SC024414
Layout and Design: Isabella Hughes
Website Platform: Square Space
Contact Details:
peterdylanhughes@aol.co.uk