Digging – Original

Phil George – I have sketched for as long as I can remember since my early childhood. My passion for art eventually led me to become a painter full time.

I grew up in 1960’s Wallsend, North Tyneside and lived five minutes walk from Swan Hunter shipyards. I first sketched the cranes there and Newcastle city centre during my first year at North Tyneside College. I left school at 16 and worked on building sites for three years until I started art classes at North Tyneside College. I was taught and inspired there by Maurice McPartlan who introduced me to the work of many artists including Stanley Spencer and Eric Ravillious. Mr McPartlan encouraged me to study art full time which I continued at Newcastle College of Art in the 1980s where I was taught by Jeff Johnson whose influence continues to this day. At that time I didn’t know anyone who made a living selling paintings and so after completing an Art Foundation course then an HND in graphic design and illustration. I worked as a designer for over 20 years in Newcastle and London. Drawing was an important and enjoyable part of my job. During these years I painted in my spare time before becoming a full-time painter.

Some of my most recent works are in Wakefield where I now live, while others are inspired by places I visit and the people there, memories of the Industrial landscape and of my childhood in the North East.

Phil George was fortunate to have had oil paintings included in the ‘Lowry and his Legacy’ exhibition at the renowned Clark Art gallery