black and white pallette edward dowden home banner
end buttonhome buttonbiography buttonfor sale buttonfor resale buttonnot for sale buttonstolen buttoncontact button
 
Welcome to this website

I am a professional artist living and working in North Yorkshire. I have previously lived in Newcastle and Wiltshire. This website is intended as a showcase for my work, past and
present, and to offer for sale those pictures that are currently available.

I have been a full-time artist since 1972, apart from a brief spell teaching part-time as well as painting. My work has been varied, but now consists primarily of landscapes and paintings of buildings, often historic buildings in their landscape setting. I have an abiding interest in old buildings and in the history of the landscape, and for twenty years I did voluntary work with building preservation trusts in the south-west of England. Although I previously worked extensively on commission, and made book illustrations, I now concentrate solely on
subjects of my own choosing.

Thank you for visiting the website.

Edward Dowden

 
home welcome 1home welcome 2home welcome 3
 
home castle 1home castle 2home castle 3
  Subject Matter

I have been enthusiastic about castles from the age of ten. This enthusiasm subsequently expanded to include all historic buildings, their landscape settings, and eventually pure landscape. Despite a lifetime of looking at old buildings, I still find it difficult to explain why they give me such pleasure. There are the more obvious factors, such as that the buildings were made by people long before I was born, will still be here long after I am dead, and this gives a strong sense of continuity. The patina of age is also very attractive - the weathering of materials, such as the growth of lichens on stone, and the softening effect that this has on the original structure, but there is something else, something intangible, and it is this that I try to convey in my paintings. I try to show what it felt like being there. Only viewers of the pictures will be able to tell whether I have succeeded.

It has been said that buildings only look at their best once they are ruined. This seems an odd idea but I think it may be right, although I do not fully understand why. An enthusiasm for the natural world requires no explanation. There is beauty in abundance, all of it informed by light, and we are hugely fortunate to exist on the surface of this planet.

 

Please note this website is best viewed on a 20 inch monitor or above.

Website last updated 25th March 2024
 
Works available for purchase Stolen pictures
works available for purchase stolen pictures
 
Paintings

A range of subjects from historic buildings to insects painted in oils
or watercolour & gouache.
 
view paintings
 
Drawings

Some original drawings made as illustrations for a book of walks
first published in 1982.
 
view drawings
 
 
Mixed Media

An art form combining a variety
of media in a single artwork often including objects found.
 
view mixed media
 
 
Missing Works

Six paintings were stolen from
Edward's home in July 1991 and
have never been recovered.
 
view stolen paintings
Cookies - what are they? A “cookie” is a text file that’s stored on your computer when you visit a website.
This website uses session cookies, which are deleted when you close down your browser. We do not store
or capture any personal information about our users. Please click here for more information.
 
 
 
Terms & Conditions  |  Telephone 01653 628331  |  Email Please visit the Contact page for details
return to home page go to top of page