Description

An Illustrated Talk by Keith Bayliss | Cheese and Wine | Friday 14 June 2024 | 7pm | £5 

Booking required – limited places (20)

Keith Bayliss’ work is figurative and expressive – his motif, the human figure in the landscape. He works in a variety of mediums: pencil and ink on paper, oil on canvas, relief print and more recently, small mixed media sculptural constructions.

In his painting he often works on a large scale, with figures almost life size. They inhabit a simple setting; the curve of a hill or a moon occasionally appear but are frequently inhabiting undefined or unrecognisable places. His protagonists are single or in pairs, sometimes interacting, sometimes moving in opposite directions with a bird or animal as companions in this private, intimate, interplay within space.

His work is allegorical, influenced by myths, folklore and biblical tales. Alongside his illustrations for many books and poems, he has made images that reference the Annunciation, Hortus Conclusus, Susanna and the Elders, his paintings often populated with angels and pink skinned cherubs.

For his 2018 site responsive exhibition at MoMA in Machynlleth, he used the title of a Goya etching from the Disasters of War series: Yo lo fi (I saw this). Using the poetry of Lorca and the imagery of Goya as a starting point, it is a personal visual response to influences and situations that are currently at play in his life/the world. His work will often incorporate a sound element produced by the artist’s son the musician Joe Bayliss, now on their third collaboration.

Keith resists giving explanations for the work he produces. For him the work in itself develops over time:

“I start with an idea but as time passes, the work dictates how, when and if, it has reached a conclusion. It is a dialogue between myself and the developing visual image. I am just the facilitator. The work ‘remakes’ itself with each new visitor it encounters and the story changes. You, the observer, complete the work.”

Book for Simple Collagraph Workshop on Sunday 16 June  here.  Places limited to 6.

You can find out more about Keith on his website.