A Macclesfield-based artist has won a competition to create the cover image for this year’s Buxton Fringe programme.
David Steeden, who is a member of High Peak Artists, regularly displays his Peak District paintings in the gallery at Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens.
Since retiring, he has been able to cultivate his life-long interest in art, and can be found out and about – often plein air sketching in pen and watercolour.
This year’s cover image contest was open to artist members of Peak District Artisans, High Peak Artists and The Green Man Gallery – resulting in a shortlist derived from all three groups.
Buxton Fringe chair Ian Bowns said: “The committee was impressed by all the entries but particularly drawn to David’s artwork which captures the joy of performance and has a lovely feeling of spontaneity and celebration about it.
“It also worked spectacularly well with our Fringe banner so was the perfect choice for our cover image.”
Mr Steeden said his aim was to capture the festive, lighthearted mood of the Fringe by depicting performers in action.
“I entitled it Joyful. It was important that the colour, the fun and the joy were all depicted in this lively painting, which is a celebration of all that the Fringe stands for,” he explained.
He added: “My main focus in a sketch is achieving good composition and tonal contrast to make the end result stand out.”
As well as keeping personal sketchbooks, David uses his Instagram page as a means of cataloguing his recent work.
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