Derek English

"Eternal Space", Monoprint.

Following the completion of an MA in Fine Art at Bretton Hall College in 1999, Derek English has exhibited his paintings and prints throughtout the North of England.

His work is an expression of his response to landscape and, as discussed in his statement below, his recent work is heavily influenced by his travels in Nepal.

"Mountains are the beginning and end of all natural scenery."
John Ruskin. Modern Painters.

"We have all experienced landscape and we keep images in our memories which have special personal associations for us.

I have always been drawn to the mountains whatever their stature and I often return. They excite me with their grandeur and presence. They are both benign companions and violent aggressors to be loved and respected and never to be taken for granted. There is majesty and beauty in the mountains but their peace and tranquility can be quickly transformed into death and destruction. A dichotomy which I believe to be one of the major attractions of the mountains for many of us.

My current work is the product of trekking through the Rolwalling Himal in the high mountains of Nepal. It has developed, through representational painting, into mono print where I am now much more involved with what I believe to be the spirituality of the places that have so excited me.

Throughout the time I spent in Nepal I always felt that the people and their culture made a major contribution to the landscapes I was privileged to walk amongst. I have tried to echo something of that culture in my more recent prints initially using a wood block that I brought back from Nepal in the print series 'Transitory Vision' and 'Eternal Space'. The text was explained to me in a letter from the KAGYU SAMYE L7NG Tibetan Centre. It is a prayer spoken by a high priest at a funeral ceremony. I thought this was in keeping with the spirituality of the people and their land and tried to make it a part of the landscape.

Following this I wanted to use something which related more to my personal experiences whilst trekking through the country. Everywhere there are prayer walls carved into the rocks, some are painted white, some are multicoloured like the prayer flags whilst others are just the natural rock.

All of them repeat this Mantra "OM MANI PADME HOM" which translates to "All Praise to the Jewel in the Lotus".

I have used this in the print series 'Essence of the Jewel' and 'Jewel in the Lotus' and I will continue to use it in some future work.

In my most recent work I have tried to move on beyond the visually descriptive and interpret more of my own emotional response to those high places where I believe there can be a physical and a spiritual presence.

Whilst I continue to relate to actual landscapes that I remember, there is a universal nature to my prints where I am now trying to say more about the nature of "Mountains" as opposed to a particular mountainous place. A further change is evolving as my most recent prints begin to reflect the more familiar landscapes of the British Isles.

Please spend some time in these landscapes of mine and transform them for yourselves by remembering your own special places."

"A wilderness is rich with liberty".
William Wordsworth.

"Mountain Realm 5" Monoprint