Kevin Blackham
We’re big fans of Kevin Blackham’s art here and absolutely love his eclectic selection of genres in which he makes a habit of working in, albeit in a resolutely contemporary fine art fashion, needless to say. From floral, still life and landscapes through to cars, boats and architectural, Blackham is either easily bored/distracted or exceptionally good (for a man) at multitasking. Either way, he’s more than accomplished in whichever contemporary artist hat (or beret if we’re to believe lazy stereotypes) he’s wearing at the time; and consequently Blackham’s work both past, present and future is much in demand.
And then there’s the unique technique and presentation style which has also helped to thrust Blackham’s pictorial work into the contemporary art spotlight on many a recurrent occasion. Without being too melodramatic, simply nothing compares to Blackham’s hand-made, mixed media, repeatable original artwork. Unlike some cloak and dagger artists there’s no sleight of hand or use of smoke and mirrors required to create Blackham’s; just good old fashioned creativity, versatility, quirkiness and gumption. Calling on his expert technical line drawing skill, Blackham endeavours to layer individual images on paper, before employing his acrylic paints, charcoal an pastel combo so as to manifest this truly original and distinctive effect. An effect which has drawn critical acclaim within the industry and from which results have proven hugely popular with fans and collectors alike.
The considered and reflective melding of seductive, intense watercolour paper and metal leaf extract affords Blackham’s now hallmark work a timeless and classic ambience and quality, irrespective of the ever changing subject matters which grace its surface. What’s more, and to essentially seal the creative deal, is Blackham’s calligraphic masterstrokes which can be readily admired in the detailing; a skill he was grounded in at Reigate School of Art before entering graphic design, which in turn formed the cornerstone of his artistic career. Having been commercially successful for over a decade now, Blackham’s individual compositions and collections have sought approval and bids from as far afield as America, while he routinely sells well across Europe and closer to his Gloucestershire home here in the UK.
Blackham hails from Shropshire and was born and raised amid the farming community in the county’s rolling hills, and it’s said that his artistic attributes were clearly visible and put into practice from an early age. That much must be true, as by the tender age of just 7 years Blackham had already got a handwriting competition win to his name, having emerged victorious in an inter-school competition at the time. And it was hand-writing (and later the art of Calligraphy) which Blackham looked most likely to pursue as a future career on account of his aptitude for the creative discipline. Indeed, at one point during his school years Blackham even launched and set-up his very own sign writing company no less, and received a raft of design commissions from local businesses that obviously recognised a precocious talent in the youngster, while also acknowledging his enterprise.
After completing his secondary education and bagging his A-levels while attending Ludlow College, Blackham later moved to Reigate in Surrey to commence his four year degree course in Graphic Design at the town’s School of Art and Design. It was on this specific course that Blackham furthered his interest and skillset in hand lettering as an art form, specialising in calligraphy. On graduating, Blackham looked to a career as a Graphic Designer and soon found his talents in demand and secured the employ of a design agency which had its core clientele located in the publishing industry. Therefore Blackham had the opportunity to broaden his creative horizons still further by being responsible for the original design of a smorgasbord of promotional material and book jackets in direct relation to many top titles.
All the time Blackham persevered with his own style of compositions and paintings, experimenting and enjoying the freedom that came from not having to adhere to the rule and structure of his more corporately-prescribed day job. In 1997 Blackham got his big break as it were, and snaffled up by one of the contemporary art publishing world’s leading lights for his troubles. One of Blackham’s how can we put this, more experimental mixed media pictorials was being exhibited at the prestigious Harrods Gallery in London (we know, a massive achievement in its own right, although by this time Blackham was being picked up on a few radars) which was spotted b y a representative from DeMontford Fine Art; who in turn hastily arranged a meeting between the two mutually interested parties sometime afterwards.
The resultant collaborations effectively served to launch (and subsequently, seal) Blackham’s career as a professional artist, and he was soon producing the type of (now back catalogue) which (along with his more current portfolio) sees a glut of uniquely crafted mixed media work, which combined his love of calligraphy with a wide variety of different techniques. Suffice to say, it wasn’t long before Blackham was grabbing the headlines, which of course was a precursor to the inevitable accolades coming his way shortly after. Very shortly after, relatively speaking, as in 2000 Blackham was nominated for the ‘Best Up and Coming Artist’ by the respected Fine Art Trade Guild AND scooped the ‘Gift of the Year’ gong for his piece entitled, ‘L’Architecture I’. In 2002 followed up his initial successes by receiving the ‘Best Selling Original Print Artist’ again from the Fine Art Trade Guild. Today, and Blackham’s work is held in private collections and galleries throughout the UK, Europe and the USA.
And then there’s the unique technique and presentation style which has also helped to thrust Blackham’s pictorial work into the contemporary art spotlight on many a recurrent occasion. Without being too melodramatic, simply nothing compares to Blackham’s hand-made, mixed media, repeatable original artwork. Unlike some cloak and dagger artists there’s no sleight of hand or use of smoke and mirrors required to create Blackham’s; just good old fashioned creativity, versatility, quirkiness and gumption. Calling on his expert technical line drawing skill, Blackham endeavours to layer individual images on paper, before employing his acrylic paints, charcoal an pastel combo so as to manifest this truly original and distinctive effect. An effect which has drawn critical acclaim within the industry and from which results have proven hugely popular with fans and collectors alike.
The considered and reflective melding of seductive, intense watercolour paper and metal leaf extract affords Blackham’s now hallmark work a timeless and classic ambience and quality, irrespective of the ever changing subject matters which grace its surface. What’s more, and to essentially seal the creative deal, is Blackham’s calligraphic masterstrokes which can be readily admired in the detailing; a skill he was grounded in at Reigate School of Art before entering graphic design, which in turn formed the cornerstone of his artistic career. Having been commercially successful for over a decade now, Blackham’s individual compositions and collections have sought approval and bids from as far afield as America, while he routinely sells well across Europe and closer to his Gloucestershire home here in the UK.
Blackham hails from Shropshire and was born and raised amid the farming community in the county’s rolling hills, and it’s said that his artistic attributes were clearly visible and put into practice from an early age. That much must be true, as by the tender age of just 7 years Blackham had already got a handwriting competition win to his name, having emerged victorious in an inter-school competition at the time. And it was hand-writing (and later the art of Calligraphy) which Blackham looked most likely to pursue as a future career on account of his aptitude for the creative discipline. Indeed, at one point during his school years Blackham even launched and set-up his very own sign writing company no less, and received a raft of design commissions from local businesses that obviously recognised a precocious talent in the youngster, while also acknowledging his enterprise.
After completing his secondary education and bagging his A-levels while attending Ludlow College, Blackham later moved to Reigate in Surrey to commence his four year degree course in Graphic Design at the town’s School of Art and Design. It was on this specific course that Blackham furthered his interest and skillset in hand lettering as an art form, specialising in calligraphy. On graduating, Blackham looked to a career as a Graphic Designer and soon found his talents in demand and secured the employ of a design agency which had its core clientele located in the publishing industry. Therefore Blackham had the opportunity to broaden his creative horizons still further by being responsible for the original design of a smorgasbord of promotional material and book jackets in direct relation to many top titles.
All the time Blackham persevered with his own style of compositions and paintings, experimenting and enjoying the freedom that came from not having to adhere to the rule and structure of his more corporately-prescribed day job. In 1997 Blackham got his big break as it were, and snaffled up by one of the contemporary art publishing world’s leading lights for his troubles. One of Blackham’s how can we put this, more experimental mixed media pictorials was being exhibited at the prestigious Harrods Gallery in London (we know, a massive achievement in its own right, although by this time Blackham was being picked up on a few radars) which was spotted b y a representative from DeMontford Fine Art; who in turn hastily arranged a meeting between the two mutually interested parties sometime afterwards.
The resultant collaborations effectively served to launch (and subsequently, seal) Blackham’s career as a professional artist, and he was soon producing the type of (now back catalogue) which (along with his more current portfolio) sees a glut of uniquely crafted mixed media work, which combined his love of calligraphy with a wide variety of different techniques. Suffice to say, it wasn’t long before Blackham was grabbing the headlines, which of course was a precursor to the inevitable accolades coming his way shortly after. Very shortly after, relatively speaking, as in 2000 Blackham was nominated for the ‘Best Up and Coming Artist’ by the respected Fine Art Trade Guild AND scooped the ‘Gift of the Year’ gong for his piece entitled, ‘L’Architecture I’. In 2002 followed up his initial successes by receiving the ‘Best Selling Original Print Artist’ again from the Fine Art Trade Guild. Today, and Blackham’s work is held in private collections and galleries throughout the UK, Europe and the USA.