Work shows Alan's roots (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Work shows Alan's roots

3:15pm Wednesday 27th May 2009 in

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Bradford artist Alan Hardcastle may not be a prolific exhibitor.

In fact in almost 40 years there have been only six exhibitions of his work. The latest, Roots, Tracks & Waterways, is currently on view at The Smith Gallery, Brighouse.

Born in Halifax but living in Bradford, Alan learned his craft at what was Leeds College of Art.

“There was an insistence on drawing. Every morning you went into the drawing studio, all morning, drawing models or still lifes. As you went on you were expected to build up your interest,” he said.

He started his college student days at the age of 16 after completing his GCE O-levels. Making the leap from school to college was, as he says himself, a steep learning curve.

His teaching career, from the early 1970s to 1984 and then from 1987 to 2002, explains why he has only had six solo exhibitions of his work.

He said: “I did paint full-time from 1984 for a few years, but then I went back into teaching.

“I am not a very quick painter. I can’t pick something up, put it down and then pick it up again weeks later. I have to keep on at it. A drawing can take between half-an-hour and five hours. Paintings take longer. I work on three or four ideas at once.

“I do as much as I can outside, depending on the climate. If the weather’s bad I do drawings and back them up with photographs.”

Like Holmfirth’s Ashley Jackson – “you mean the man who paints all the telegraph poles” – it is the bleakness of the West Yorkshire landscape that appeals to Alan. He finds inspiration among remote farmhouses, rocks and trees; he’s also fond of Judy Woods.

You won’t find people, though. There seems to be a conceit among Yorkshire painters, including David Hockney, that landscapes don’t contain human beings, as though strong westerly winds have blown all of them over the hills and far away.

His latest exhibition at the Smith Gallery comprises 65 pictures. It got off to a promising start with three works, a drawing, an oil painting and a pastel, selling for between £200 and £350 on the first day.

Alan hopes that the proximity of the public library – people go through it to reach the Smith Gallery – will generate interest.

Returning to human beings, Alan admitted that 20 years or more have passed since he last portrayed a human face. Now the idea is in his mind, he may get round to doing a few self-portraits in the next 20 years.

Roots, Tracks & Waterways is on at The Smith Gallery, Brighouse. The gallery is closed on Wednesdays. It is open 10am to 6pm. Admission is free.