Local illumination – Ink Drawings and Oil Paintings by Peter Porteous-Butler

We are delighted to welcome back the hugely talented Colchester-based artist Peter Porteous-Butler for a special exhibition: Local Illumination.

The exhibition will feature Peter’s recent works exploring local scenes and views in ink drawings and oil paintings, with an emphasis on light and colour.

This poignant exhibition will share a very personal piece of work (shown here) featuring Peter’s late mother, Barbara Butler, who sadly died suddenly just before Christmas. Barbara was very well known around Colchester as a tour guide and local history expert. 

Peter says, “I was inspired to do this work for a recent art show at Artsy Image Gallery, titled ‘The Things We Learned to Ignore’. The work captures a moment from a few years ago when mum played an old piano that was installed on the beach at Harwich. At the time, when I snapped the photo, I hadn’t realised it would be the last time I would hear her play – she used to play ragtime tunes quite a lot when I was young. To me, the whole scene captured the wonderful eccentricity and joy that my mum exuded, and now in this picture she can be playing on happily forevermore.”

The painting is on display at Level Best gallery in St John’s Street, Colchester, until 26th June, alongside more of Peter’s work featuring many familiar local scenes.