George Somerville was born in Glasgow and is a self-taught artist, as his family couldn’t afford to send him to art college despite his obvious talent from a young age. He began his career by painting pictures of community groups and factories of different types, as he felt that they reflected his childhood, growing up in 1950’s Glasgow. However, he soon realised that his work was changing and no longer had the industrial backgrounds of his early work, and the characters were becoming more prominent.
Have a look a couple of his new pieces…
An Unexpected Gust (original painting) by George Somerville
Brrr! looks chilly! just like British weather-especially Scottish weather!
Street Party (limited edition print) by George Somerville
Something that rarely happens these days, a street party!!
Somerville has also released some sculptures of his work, and here is an example of how it looks:
Blown Away (sculpture) by George Somerville
George Somerville’s work reminds me a lot of Alexander Millar’s work, in that they both have a similar style, painting older working-class gentlemen: ‘Gadgies,’ often sideways or with their backs to the viewer. As well as this, they both have a style where the background is hazy or blurry with no detail. They also both often feature a dog in the pictures with their main characters.
I would love to hear from you if you agree or disagree, which artist you prefer or any comments and opinions you would like to post about George Somerville!!
Thanks for reading,
Tanya
Useful Links:
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Northern Art Prize (Competition)
Northern Art prize 2009 finalists announced