My first guest blog!
I thought it’d be nice to have guest bloggers on my wee blog sometimes, and today is my first! My partner in crime today is Duncan Pass, husband of YA author Emma Pass, and printer, painter and artiste extraordinaire. You know that feeling when you look at a painting or piece of art and feel completely blown away? Well, that’s pretty much how I felt when I saw Duncan’s woodcuts and paintings. His work is stunning. Some of this is to do with the sheer size of some of the pieces; then there’s the variety; then there’s the quality and depth, and the detail… the list is endless. I hope he won’t mind me saying this, but, as well as having an abundance of talent, he is also an incredibly humble man who works very hard at what he does. Now over to Duncan…
Artist, Duncan Pass
I didn’t like school, and ended up leaving at the age of fourteen. First, I got a job as a tyre fitter, then as a coil winder, and after that, spent the next seven years working on holiday camps and in leisure centres as a lifeguard.
But I knew I didn’t want to be a lifeguard forever. I’d had a friend at one of the holiday camps I’d worked on, Taffy Evans, who’d been a submariner in the Navy. He was a real free spirit, and eventually he inspired me to take my life in a different direction. In 1995 I left the leisure industry and took an Access Art and Design at course at Chesterfield College, followed by a BA Honours degree at Falmouth College of Arts.
Since graduating, I have never stopped doing my art. I work in three ways: oil painting, drawing and printmaking. For my prints, I use drypoint and woodcut techniques, using a press I designed and built myself with the help of a local engineering firm.
I’ve also had work accepted for various competitions, including the Derbyshire Open Arts at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery where I was offered a solo exhibition, ‘Walking Through Landscape’, from July-September 2007. During this time I was featured as ‘Artist of the Month’ in Reflections Magazine.
Currently, I’m Artist in Residence at the Peak District Mining Experience in Matlock Bath. There, I’m making images of the museum’s artefacts and its interior and producing drawings of local lead mining sites.
This year, I’ve been interviewed twice for the BBC’s ‘Inside Out’ programme and in October I helped to run two workshops for the Big Draw. I also volunteer every week alongside my mother as a teacher at my local art group, which has now been running for around ten years.
- The Wirksworth Miner
Duncan also has a website at www.duncanpassartist.co.uk where you can see more of his beautiful paintings and woodcuts, and can contact him for more information about what he does.
Big Thanks to Duncan for being my first guest blogger and making such a darn good job of it!
Leave a Reply