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My art training began in Bradford in the North of England, where I studied Graphic Design from 1980-1983. After that I then went on to study for a Higher Diploma in Graphic Design, specialising in illustration, at Lincoln Art College.
Once I completed all my formal training I decided to move to London, approaching all of the major city publishers with my portfolio. It was there that I worked on illustrations for children’s books, and after 6 months moved to Cambridge where I continued working as a freelance illustrator.
Upon moving back to my home town of Saltaire in West Yorkshire, I took up the position of designer for a greetings card company, which involved all aspects of product design and development. Following that I became a photographic art director, directing fashion shoots all over the world. I did this for the next year or so until 1993, when I decided to swap my hectic photographic job and lifestyle, for a quieter life back in Saltaire. I spent the next five years here, working freelance on card designs with major publishing companies.
It wasn’t until 1999 that I decided to enter the fine art market and approached Washington Green with my portfolio. Since joining them they have published over 40 of my designs and are currently developing some of my art into sculpture.
Many of my paintings are about good and evil – innocence and malevolence. When I was a child I remember believing what a wonderful and happy place the world was. I loved to learn about other people in other countries and wanted to visit them all. Of course, I now realise things aren’t quite as I once imagined, and the once distant places where I so wanted to be are not so far away; they are actually on my doorstep. The people I wanted to meet are locked in a bitter hatred of each other, divided by race or religion. The world is a place where the innocent pay the heaviest price. It affects me deeply. It’s like living in the garden of Good and Evil. I can’t ignore it, so I depict it in the form of these innocent pictures. I leave it to the individual to look at my paintings and choose what they would like to see, innocence or malevolence – the ‘good’ or the ‘evil’!
Above all else I am, and always will be, an eternal optimist. Optimism is one of the greatest gifts we possess. When I think about it, I think of the song ‘Fields of Gold’ by Sting – the lyrics sum it up!
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Govinder Nazran's Work
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