David William Morris - Artist - SCAR GALLERY RAVENSTONEDALE

Exhibited at Scar Gallery Ravenstonedale: Permanent exhibition

View paintings for sale by David William Morris

About Me

Born in Southport, I was thought to be ‘good at drawing’ from an early age. I was a prominent art student at the grammar school. After A levels, I attended Southport School of Art and Crafts and Liverpool Regional College of Art. Here I gained the N.D.D. and A.T.D. I learnt much from tutors at Southport, Harold Critchley, Don Stokle and the extraordinary Max Eden.

For eleven years I taught art in secondary level schools. I then took a change of direction by working at Abbot Hall Art Gallery in Kendal under Mary Burkett OBE. There followed a year at Sittingborne College with the painters Roy Oxlade and Rose Wylie. After another spell with Mary Burkett, looking for dormant works of art in public buildings, I settled down to learning the art of designing carpets with Goodacre Carpets.

Towards the end of this period I met my wife, Caroline A Metcalfe-Gibson and we moved to Ravenstonedale. Here, we ran Drawing and Painting Courses for nearly 20 years. At the same time we opened The Scar Gallery. Mostly we exhibited our own paintings in the gallery. Throughout this thirty-plus year period I have been painting and exhibiting steadily.

About My Painting

The style of my painting has probably gradually developed over a number of years. It has been and still can be quite variable. This leads to surprise by some people that two differing pieces were painted by the same person.

Some of my paintings are more naturalistic than others. This is perhaps because sometimes I feel the need (and sometimes with pleasure) for sorting out the look or nature of things before going on to create something more expressive or imaginative. The outcome of these can vary, ranging from the quietly abstract-poetic to the more dramatic-expressive.

There are a number of influences which may have helped to fashion my way of working. These include obvious masters such as Cezanne and Monet to groups of artists such as the Fauves or contemporary Scottish artists. Less obvious though, would be the colouring of Sienese artists such as Sassetta (altarpiece of St.Francis, 1439-44). Also influential were certain works by Matisse such as ‘The Blue Window’ 1914 or ‘the Studio, Quai Saint Michel’ 1916.

As to subject matter, the local landscape is studied a lot, not lofty Lakeland mountains. This is the more wild yet gentle Howgills farmland populated with drystone walls, trees, reeds, grasses, cows, sheep, fell ponies and sometimes human figures.

A More Detailed CV

He has lived and worked for the past 30 years in Ravenstonedale in the south-east of Cumbria close to the Howgill Fells.

He was a tutor for the Open College of the Arts (OCA) for 24 years.

Born in 1943, he trained at Southport and Liverpool Art Schools gaining the National Diploma in Design and the Art Teacher’s Diploma. In 1976, he took DESY4 secondment year at Sittingborne College led by the artist Roy Oxlade.

Taught Art in Secondary Education for 12 years.

Museum Assistant, Abbot Hall Art Gallery, 1975-6.

Project researcher, cataloguing works of art in public buildings for Northern Arts, based at Abbot Hall, 1977-78.

Designer, Goodacre Carpets, Kendal 1979-87.

Tutor OCA, 1989-2014.

Art Courses, Ravenstonedale with Caroline A.Metcalfe – Gibson 1989-2009.

Frequently exhibiting in Cumbria since 1979 with more substantial showings since 2000 and was awarded First Prize in the 2008 Upfront Cumbria Open.

Co-owner, The Scar Gallery, Ravenstonedale, Cumbria up to the present.

Exhibitions

1980 Theatre-in- the- Forest, Grisedale (Solo)
1985 The Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal (Solo)
1987 The Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal (2 person)
1993 The Lewis Textile Gallery, Blackburn (group)
1996 Oddfellows Contemporary Art Gallery, Kendal (Tarns & Waterfalls)
1998 Keswick Museum Gallery (2 person)
1998 Brewery Arts Centre ‘Interiors’
1999 Derwent College, University of York (2 person)
1999 Oddfellows Contemporary Art Gallery (Cumbria Life)
2001 Theatre by the Lake, Keswick (2 person)
2001-2 ‘Between the Leaves’, at the Bookcase Gallery (Cumbria College of Art& design) (Group)
2002-2012 Eden Open Studios (becoming C-Art)
2002-2013 Upfront Cumbria Open Exhibitions (twice Highly Commended)
2006 Where the Lane divides the pasture (Solo) (at Upfront Gallery near Hutton in the Forest)
2007 Philomena’s Arthouse, Brigham (2 person)
2008 First Prize, Upfront Cumbria Open
2008 Red Barn Gallery Melkinthorpe (5 person)
2009-2011 the ‘Small’ Exhibition, Millyard Studio (group
2009 Viridian Gallery Keswick (Solo)
2012 Upfront Gallery, joint show with Tom Oldham and Jamie Oldham
2012-2016 ‘Small’ exhibition at The Factory’, Kendal-(group with David Penn)
2017 Solo Exhibition, ‘Along the lane, across the dale’ at the Ruskin Museum, Coniston
2018-19 Upfront Cumbria Open Exhibitions