Terence Austin – Biography
Light, tranquility and atmosphere. These are the characteristics that brought the artist and photographer Terence Austin to the Silver Coast. It’s a place with sensational locations and his work tries to reflect the moods of the local landscape through pictures in acrylic and oil paint.
He renders his scenes in an almost cinematic idiom. The influence of film and video can be witnessed throughout his works, for many years Terence worked professionally as a cameraman, editor and director so the disciplines of working in these mediums have contributed much to his unique style.
He constantly strives to imbue his works with a luminous yet restrained palette, compose pictures as if filtered through a lens to create a visual unity and to use picture aspect ratios often employed in cinema for the benefit of the audience.
He has continually painted and drawn even from boyhood and he has developed greatly through a varied and rich artistic career. His talent as a painter derives much from his visual communication flair. For instance, he has also produced 2D and 3D computer animations, illustrations, graphics and worked as a professional studio and location photographer. This has impacted greatly on the way he works today and Terence feels it’s time to return to his roots as a painter to deliver a way of seeing the world through artworks of quality which are the sum of rich and varied experience.
Terence Austin where did it all start?
Is it genetics that make us what and who we are? I believe it to be and, we are all, to a greater or lesser extent, the victims and beneficiaries of previous lives and our bloodlines.
Many generations back, in the bosom of the industrial revolution, situated in the satanic red brick and smoke-shrouded Staffordshire townscapes my ancestors toiled and painted ceramics.
Under steely leaden skies, from the earth, clay and amongst the filth and grime of the time they produced visions of Eden, in a new model industrially fabricated paradise. What talent I possess and originality is probably due to their tenacity, imagination, skill and commitment.
The compulsion to paint must have been seeded there and grown. I have always painted. As a boy, I would steal away to the secret place under the sofa and among the musty, the dusty and the solitary forgotten sock I would prise open mum’s carefully stashed tin box of oil paints.
The colours shone and even in the shadows this strange fruit was magic and venom. Hues of chromium oranges and yellows, intense ultramarines, vibrant vermilions, crisp lemons and subdued ochres spoke to me in a way words could not convey.
I confess I stole these jewels and used them freely in my early paintings carefully returning them each time to their place of rest when I had to let go. Mum never really cottoned on. The alarming rate of usage of paint was due to in tube drying and shrinkage perhaps.
In the approaching years, and all through my professional life as a photographer, cameraman, and director the colours and I were still conversing. They inspired me, cajoled me, infuriated and fascinated me in ways I cannot begin to describe.
Always they tempted and captivated, they became stronger more complex and grew intricate. They invaded me like an army by shape-shifting into the formalities of composition, line, tone, texture and form.
They burned me and stole me. They made me thirsty and dry always needing quenching and feeding.
Today they still do, and I hope like some hopeless crazed coke headed junkie they always will.
Today
Since I turned professional as a painter I have enjoyed increasing success and sold nearly all my works to collections in the USA, Europe and the Far East. This has posed a welcome problem. People are always asking when I am going to have my next exhibition. The reply is frequently the same, “when I can get enough paintings together at one time”. You see I sell nearly everything I paint. Much of my work is done to commission and I like working this way with people to get them a result that is pleasing and of value. So if you have an idea, something long fermented in your memory, talk to me to discover together how we can get it down on canvas and make it a reality.
Looking back
To condense 30 years into a few words is almost impossible. What I can say is that this range and depth of knowledge gives my paintings something different something probably only you can judge.
In the course of my creative professional career I have filmed the spectacular, the breathtaking and the microscopic. For instance, I have shot subterranean locations deep down 2 miles out under the sea in the heat and dirt of coal mines, hung out the escape hatch of Alpine cable cars for mountain shots high up over glacial expanses, chased speeding trains in the latest and fastest helicopters to obtain dynamic footage at heady velocity. Conversely, I have painted painstakingly frame by frame images and created characters for 2D and 3D animations and produced illustrations for brochures and journals.
I have run my own independent video and film production company and written and directed many programmes which have been seen all over the world in a multitude of languages.
This breadth, depth and scope of creative experience, always working under the weight of deadline and expectation of an audience, has shaped the way I paint now. I think I bring to my clients a very professional and creative service which is entirely focused on them. I want to deliver paintings that are right for them and will be lovingly cherished through generations, surprisingly this is the greatest challenge of my career.
Art based experience
Professional artist and associated fields.
Over 30 years experience in painting landscapes, still lives, portraits, produced in acrylic, oils, pastel, charcoal, mural design and painting both exterior and interior projects, worked as gallery exhibitions organizer worked as picture framer in picture frame company.
Professional TV, corporate and film cameraman, director and producer
Over 25 years experience in Broadcast TV and commercial environment as a freelance cameraman both studio and location using broadcast formats and 16mm and 35mm film standards.
Produced and directed for own independent video production outfit working on budgets up to £100,000
Professional photography
Over 25 years experience in commercial studios and location photography working internationally on projects with a variety of formats 35mm, 645, large plate negatives and colour and black and white printing and processing.
