Gordon Barker

I was born in Gibraltar in 1960. My father was in the army so my family moved around the world until we finally settled in Northamptonshire when I was twelve.

I have always had a vivid imagination and even from a young age I’ve found art fascinating. However, it wasn’t until I came to secondary school that I was given the encouragement from my art teacher to paint and draw in many different ways and to let my own style grow and develop, although in those days my work was very abstract.

In 1981 I began to paint landscapes for the first time. Initially these were mostly sunsets and silhouettes, but in time I began to paint pictures with more colours and many different subjects. I met my wife in 1982 and I even gave her photographs of my paintings to take home with her until our next date! Of course I made sure I was in one of the photos too!

In late 1983 I sold my first painting to a recording company in Milton Keynes. Over the next few years I sold many originals and commissioned pieces to companies like MTV Europe, The Gap and private collectors.

The landscapes I paint are mostly ones that I’ve created in my imagination. I like to make the pictures ‘busy’ so that each time someone looks at it they notice something else going on. I prefer bright vivid colours that grab people’s attention rather than drab and boring. I am passionate about my creations and as soon as I finish a painting I am constantly thinking of my next one. The best thing about being an artist is that I start off with a blank white canvas and gradually, as my imagination takes over, the colours I want people to enjoy my art and see things in my paintings that also mean something personal to them.

We have 3 cats and I almost always paint a cat in my pictures – sometimes you will have to look hard to find them!