User:Goldentundra49/Hamish Blakely

Hamish Blakely (born February 16th, 1968) is a British, contemporary realist painter best known for his paintings in which the predominant model is his wife and muse, Gail Blakely.

Early life
Born in Canterbury, Kent, Blakely completed his Foundation course at Wimbledon School of Art after which he attained his degree in Illustration at Kingston University in 1990. Shortly after graduating he received a Benson and Hedges award for illustration,

Career
In 1990, Blakely joined Folio Illustration Agency with whom his most notable commissions were two book covers - 'Victim of the Aurora' and 'A Family Madness' by the best selling author Thomas Keneally, international poster campaigns for the Body Shop as well as further commissions for Cable and Wireless and British Telecom. After several years he joined Maggie Barge (previously the founder of Pink Barge illustration) for whom he undertook a series of large scale paintings to be hung in luxury cruise liners.

During this period, Blakely began production on a new body of work entitled 'Do Not Disturb'. The exhibition which he and Gail curated, took place at the Thomas Kettle Gallery in Covent Garden in 1999. The exhibition itself explored genetic manipulation and its effects on its patients and indicated an increasing interest in physicality and lighting. After several years working as an illustrator, Blakely took a hiatus from the art world and then later resumed his creative pursuits when he joined Washington Green Fine Art Publishing in 2005. Blakely's debut collection comprised of depictions of a bygone era, the roaring twenties, with works such as 'Sisters' ; but it was his close collaboration with Gail, his wife that proved to be the most enduring phase of his career. Casting her as the main protagonist in all of his output heralded a new period of creativity that saw dance as a popular theme, leading to the limited editions of such as 'Around Midnight', 'Tango Rouge' and 'The Last to Leave'. In 2011 at Harrods, Blakely was elected to be the artist to launch the opening of the then, new Halcyon Gallery in which 40 paintings were presented under the show title 'Muse'. In all works, Gail was the main character and this collection, again marked a turning point in Blakely's development as a painter. Martin Newman, art critic and author described him as a 'master painter' whose style harked back to 'British Orientalism or the paintings of Jean Louis Gerome'. Certainly, it is this uniquely aligned partnership between muse and artist that has been the most significant force in Blakely's work. Blakely's next exhibition took place at the ICC in Birmingham at Castle Fine Art in March, 2013.This new show entitled 'Simple Pleasures' displayed more varied subject matter including still lifes, outdoor scenes as well as Blakely's more familiar nudes.

In May 2015, his continued collaboration with Gail saw his most ambitious series of paintings displayed at Castle Fine Art in Mayfair, London. 'Out of Work Angels' explored Heaven’s creatures in a state of flux. As more and more younger people turn away from the Church, Blakely's Angels were becoming expendable. This collection saw them arriving on Earth, having lost their jobs and awaiting a new journey.

Blakely continues to collaborate with Gail on plans for future projects.