Movement of life _{by Alessia Belsito-Riera}

“I paint as a self-expression,” John Badcock says. “It is my way of understanding the world, the environment, and the people that live in it.”

A highly accomplished and recognised artist, Badcock is known for his en plein air landscapes characterised by a heavily applied and beautifully sculptured use of rich oil paint on board. Badcock would describe his style as “very expressive” and “post-expressionist” due to a heavy impasto application of the paint, which “creates changing light across the painted surface”.

The highly textural artwork lends itself to subjects such as fields of grasses and seeding flowers, cityscapes, and even portraits. “The fluidity of the painted surface reflects this movement of life, especially in my portrait works,” Badcock says. “The line of pure paint straight from the tube adds to the dance within these works.”

His Exhibitions Gallery showcase, which runs until the 8^th of September, includes works produced through the summer months. “I very much enjoy this time of the year out in the fields, trying to capture the movement, colour, and changing light,” Badcock says. “I have also included portraits that capture the essence of me working in the fields.” In summer, Badcock spends most of his time working in nature but come winter he moves into the studio, where he paints “reflective works from the outdoors and other comments around political and social events of our time”.

Badcock has been painting for over 50 years. He hopes that visitors to his exhibition “get the same joy and excitement” from seeing the works as he does painting them.