The Artist
Philip Raymond
Westcott was born in 1951 and is a resident of Eccles in the City
of Salford. He studied at Salford Grammar School and later at
the City of Leeds College.
His work over
the last 20 years has predominantly consisted of landscapes and
cityscapes painted in oils around the northwest region of England.
Philip maintains that Manchester itself has been one of his main
sources of inspiration, and it is a tribute to his talents that
he was the only artists invited into the Arndale Centre to record
the devastation caused by the IRA bombing in 1996. He regards
his work as a tribute to the northwest landscape.
In his landscape
paintings, he tends towards hidden views of secret places rather
than the more usual and traditional panoramic views. These paintings,
according to Philip, "...show the peace and tranquillity
which are to be found in isolated places of beauty".
Though abstraction
has predominated the art world in recent times, Philip sees the
landscape as having a long tradition in English painting - a tradition
which is in danger of being lost in the modern media-orientated
society. He believes that artists should continue to capture the
landscape while it survives, before spreading towns and motorways
destroy it forever.
Philip's career
is marked by many exhibitions, awards and honours, including being
a Prize-winner in the Salford Urban Art Exhibition, First Prize
winner in the Bury New Year Festival Art Competition and many
others.
Apart from
in his native Salford, his works have been exhibited in British
Watercolour Society shows, the British Society of Painters, at
the Lime Gallery and the Talent Search gallery in California,
and in August 2002 he was invited to exhibit in the "Our
Manchester" exhibition during the Commonwealth Games.
He has also
held a host of solo exhibitions around the northwest and has been
featured in numerous publications including "Art &
Artists", "House & Garden" and "City
Life" magazines.
Information
about Philip Westcott can be found at the Axis Artist Database
at www.Imu.ac.uk/ces/axis
and www.artmanchester.co.uk
He can be
contacted by email at: philip.westcott@ntlworld.com
