Gordon King
Described in various quarters as arguably the UK’s finest figurative water-colourist, celebrated contemporary figurative artist, Gordon King was born in Fife at the outbreak of World War II in 1939, and spent a happy, early childhood living on the west coast of Scotland until relocating south of the border and to Reading in Berkshire some time later. It was clear to see from the outset of his youth that King brandished a talent for art, and to support this theory the youngster claimed first prize in a collection of major art competitions from the time he was 7 years of age and onwards. Himself, keen to pursue an artistic career, King decided to specialise in the discipline of figurative illustration which is precisely where his fledgling talent lay to the casual and more seasoned observer during those formative years, and on that creative note King underwent training at London’s prestigious Carlton Studios, whilst also choosing to study life drawing and painting at Reading University around the same period.
National Service might well have put paid to King’s more artistic ideals, had it not been for the fact that his posting with the Royal Signals was in the capacity of Draughtsman, which naturally enabled him to gain an alternative insight into art, albeit form a more technical perspective. What’s more, he spent the large part of his compulsory National Service stationed in Paris; which exposed King to even greater inspirations which would in the fullness of time, shape his artistic future. On completing his time in the army, King went on to become a freelance illustrator when returning to Civvy Street in his early 20s, and found his talents in demand with a host of commercial suitors. Around the time King produced illustrative work for major magazines and advertising agencies, he also became a Member of the Society of Industrial Artists (MSIAD).
Pretty much all of the time King was applying illustrative solutions to the more corporate of design problems; he was compiling a useful back catalogue of personal artwork, with an ultimate view of one day being in the position of potential launching himself in the capacity of a fine artist rather than a more commercial one. In the early 1970s King got his big break, and was so well-received he could eventually turn his back on his freelance illustrative contracts and instead concentrate on his true labours of artistic love. King’s portfolio of primarily figurative and portraiture was the result of a plethora of commissions he’d been handed by impressed parties, and he began exhibiting his finished compositional articles around this period.
Predominantly oil-based works, success arrived quite rapidly for King once word got out and moreover on the back of his first one-man solo show going down a storm, and it wasn’t long before he was exhibiting at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions in London and later at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, painting mostly figurative subjects. King soon became gained a reputation for his paintings of girls, pictured in natural environs which became his compositional stock from the start. The increasing – and enduring - popularity of King’s watercolours in the early 1980s, together with the success of his prints, limited editions and silk-screens, brought him the high profile that he still enjoys today, and in 1995 he published his first of two titles, ‘A Romance with Art’. In acknowledgement of his hitherto charitable work with Save the Children, its patron, HRH The Princess Royal, lent her words to the book’s forward, whilst the publication itself boasted an expansive range of his most popular and best-selling oils and watercolours.
Today, King can be found working out of his Buckinghamshire studio, which in itself provides a backdrop familiar to many of his fans in relation to his portraiture sittings. The critically-acclaimed artist has enjoyed exhibiting worldwide over the past 30 years and has also featured painting live on a number of television programmes including the BBC2 arts series ‘Close-Up’, Channel 5’s ‘Open House’ and Sky Sports with the P.G.A amongst others. King’s follow-up book – entitled ‘Drawn to Life’ – was published in 1999 and that very same year he was awarded the accolade of ‘Published Artist of the Year’ courtesy of the industry-respected Fine Art Trade Guild. In addition to that, King also had a painting accepted into the Singer & Friedlander Sunday Times Watercolour Competition which exhibited in London before touring the country.
As hinted at above, King has supported various charitable bodies throughout his professional art career, including being involved in key projects on behalf of the NSPCC and the BBC’s ‘Children in Need’ appeal (when he painted a portrait in front of a live audience). Furthermore, one of King’s commissioned paintings of the Golf at Brocket Hall was auctioned for the Bob Wilson Willow Foundation, while elsewhere recent projects have included three limited edition prints of Darcey Bussell in aid of The Alzheimer’s Society, a collection of paintings of Angels for the Caron Keating Foundation and a painting of Status Quo which was auctioned at Bonhams in aid of The Prince’s Trust. And then there’s King’s celebrity portraits, which number many and comprise the likes of Sir Norman Wisdom, Gloria Hunniford, Ann Widdecombe, Tim Henman, Tony Jacklin, Katherine Jenkins and the legendary actress Patricia Neal. Represented by one of the UK’s largest art publishers, Washington Green, King’s much sought after compositions remain highly prized by their owners and hugely collectable when new pieces are released, and are routinely seen as a sound investment in contemporary art circles.
National Service might well have put paid to King’s more artistic ideals, had it not been for the fact that his posting with the Royal Signals was in the capacity of Draughtsman, which naturally enabled him to gain an alternative insight into art, albeit form a more technical perspective. What’s more, he spent the large part of his compulsory National Service stationed in Paris; which exposed King to even greater inspirations which would in the fullness of time, shape his artistic future. On completing his time in the army, King went on to become a freelance illustrator when returning to Civvy Street in his early 20s, and found his talents in demand with a host of commercial suitors. Around the time King produced illustrative work for major magazines and advertising agencies, he also became a Member of the Society of Industrial Artists (MSIAD).
Pretty much all of the time King was applying illustrative solutions to the more corporate of design problems; he was compiling a useful back catalogue of personal artwork, with an ultimate view of one day being in the position of potential launching himself in the capacity of a fine artist rather than a more commercial one. In the early 1970s King got his big break, and was so well-received he could eventually turn his back on his freelance illustrative contracts and instead concentrate on his true labours of artistic love. King’s portfolio of primarily figurative and portraiture was the result of a plethora of commissions he’d been handed by impressed parties, and he began exhibiting his finished compositional articles around this period.
Predominantly oil-based works, success arrived quite rapidly for King once word got out and moreover on the back of his first one-man solo show going down a storm, and it wasn’t long before he was exhibiting at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions in London and later at the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, painting mostly figurative subjects. King soon became gained a reputation for his paintings of girls, pictured in natural environs which became his compositional stock from the start. The increasing – and enduring - popularity of King’s watercolours in the early 1980s, together with the success of his prints, limited editions and silk-screens, brought him the high profile that he still enjoys today, and in 1995 he published his first of two titles, ‘A Romance with Art’. In acknowledgement of his hitherto charitable work with Save the Children, its patron, HRH The Princess Royal, lent her words to the book’s forward, whilst the publication itself boasted an expansive range of his most popular and best-selling oils and watercolours.
Today, King can be found working out of his Buckinghamshire studio, which in itself provides a backdrop familiar to many of his fans in relation to his portraiture sittings. The critically-acclaimed artist has enjoyed exhibiting worldwide over the past 30 years and has also featured painting live on a number of television programmes including the BBC2 arts series ‘Close-Up’, Channel 5’s ‘Open House’ and Sky Sports with the P.G.A amongst others. King’s follow-up book – entitled ‘Drawn to Life’ – was published in 1999 and that very same year he was awarded the accolade of ‘Published Artist of the Year’ courtesy of the industry-respected Fine Art Trade Guild. In addition to that, King also had a painting accepted into the Singer & Friedlander Sunday Times Watercolour Competition which exhibited in London before touring the country.
As hinted at above, King has supported various charitable bodies throughout his professional art career, including being involved in key projects on behalf of the NSPCC and the BBC’s ‘Children in Need’ appeal (when he painted a portrait in front of a live audience). Furthermore, one of King’s commissioned paintings of the Golf at Brocket Hall was auctioned for the Bob Wilson Willow Foundation, while elsewhere recent projects have included three limited edition prints of Darcey Bussell in aid of The Alzheimer’s Society, a collection of paintings of Angels for the Caron Keating Foundation and a painting of Status Quo which was auctioned at Bonhams in aid of The Prince’s Trust. And then there’s King’s celebrity portraits, which number many and comprise the likes of Sir Norman Wisdom, Gloria Hunniford, Ann Widdecombe, Tim Henman, Tony Jacklin, Katherine Jenkins and the legendary actress Patricia Neal. Represented by one of the UK’s largest art publishers, Washington Green, King’s much sought after compositions remain highly prized by their owners and hugely collectable when new pieces are released, and are routinely seen as a sound investment in contemporary art circles.