Stephen Oliver Studio & Gallery

Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was first published by Macmillan in November 1865. This year Orchards Shopping Dartford and Stephen Oliver: Studio & Gallery would like to invite artists to show as much work as possible using the story of Alice as the theme.

Nature plays a large part in my work - particularly skies and stretching perspectives. I like to represent the 'feel' of nature, very often as an abstraction using various techniques in oil, acrylic, or watercolour. Being creative is something that has been with me for most of my life. In my teens I was an enthusiastic amateur photographer, and I have been involved with drawing and colour for many years. Trained locally, and supported with self-tuition, I now concentrate on painting and drawing 'excerpts' from the natural world.

My art evolves as I work - I try to achieve a loose interpretation of the subject allowing the viewer to engage with the piece. Working with my hands, palette knives and other tools to create movement and texture, helps me to achieve my view of our world. Primarily influenced by shape, texture, and colour I also consider work from artists such as Kurt Jackson, Gerhard Richter, Anselm Kiefer, and Frank Auerbach. JMW Turner's later work I much admire.