Description
‘Mutton Dingle’ New Radnor
Original Watercolour
Footpath near Mutton Dingle, New Radnor, Powys
Collect from gallery £425
Including UK delivery £455
Image 25.5 x 19 cm
Including 4 cm wide oak frame 43.5 x 36.5 cm
Alan Percy Walker’s career in art first arose in the early 1970’s with the writing of two novels and the production of a small collection of watercolour landscapes. The paintings sold; the novels did not. His writing took a back-seat while his painting increased in popularity and sold, mainly through private galleries – often one-man exhibitions – with much of his work going abroad. He was first known primarily for his urban and marine landscapes, many of which have been published in books, calendars, magazines such as Country Life, and in the form of limited edition prints. A large body of his work in pen and ink has also been published in books and newspapers – Peterborough of the Daily Telegraph and others. Control of perspective and observation of detail lead to his being commissioned to paint a wide range of subjects, from small cottages to stately homes, from Cathedrals to The Royal Courts of Justice. His clients have included the National Trust, the Church of England, and various universities. He has been commissioned on 10 occasions to produce watercolours of Gold Medal winning gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Shows. In more recent years his trees and rural landscapes have become especially popular, also his paintings of ocean going yachts and ships in wild and turbulent waters.
His first cautious return to writing was in 1983 when he ‘ghosted’ Sam Grigg’s book ‘Country Railwaymen’ which also contained 104 pen and ink drawings. The book was awarded a trade prize for design and originality, and subsequently made a Book Club choice. It went to a 3rd impression.
‘Country Town’, a book written by Alan Percy Walker and illustrated with 180 of his pen and ink drawings, was also well received and went to 3rd impression after it was published in 1988. Since then a number of other books of his paintings and drawings have been published.
Most of his paintings are watercolours, on plain white 140lb Cold Pressed paper; he uses very little gouache and his watercolours contain no line-work; Also his paintings are devoid of pentimenti. His drawings are on cartridge paper using lead pencil, or common ball-point pen, or Indian ink with a ‘dip and scratch’ nib; his figurative work is often on sepia tinted paper using Caran d’Ache crayons.
He says now that time spent writing is a joy not often afforded. Painting demands precedence. Recent work includes commissions from Sankyo Shoji Corp, Tokyo:A Nidec Group Company; Reeves, Watercolour calendars of Great Britain; Ministry of Finance, Sarawak; Royal Marines School of Music, The National Library of Wales.
Originally from Kent and London he moved with his family to Wales in 1988.
