Steve Capper

Steve Capper attended Manchester’s High School of Art in 1955, at the age of eleven years, followed by the Manchester College of Art in 1962 and then Bretton Hall College in 1965.

He taught painting for thirty years as head of a large art faculty in an Oldham comprehensive school, before taking early retirement in 1996 to concentrate on producing his own work.

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The artist lives and works near Oldham, in the Pennines, and these hills have had a major influence on his work. The hills and valleys, together with the man-made environs, produce simple, individual shapes which combine to form more complex images. Moreover, the shapes and patterns provide an ideal vehicle for the artist’s work with colour; his use of primary colours both enhances and emphasises the fascinating aspects of this special environment.

He produces on-the-spot sketches which are then taken into his studio where he re-works them into a painting. Both his landscapes and his still-life paintings reflect the influences of the cubists and the fauves.

“My work is not a photographic image of a single place but rather a composite of several places. I am attempting to capture the feeling and atmosphere of Saddleworth and the Pennines, focusing on the shapes and patterns formed by the clouds, fields and trees etc. My use of primary colours is to emphasise the forms created by these special landscapes. I have been painting still life pieces for over forty years, since I came across the work of Picasso, Braque and Matisse. The format feels like an old friend, and something I am comfortable with.”

Steve Capper’s work has been exhibited at the following venues:

Saddleworth Museum and Art Gallery
Massarella Gallery Saltaire Bradford
Jigsaw Kitchen Manchester
Oriel Ynys Mon Anglesey
Colin Jelicoe Gallery Manchester
Oldham Coliseum
Millgate Centre
Filmhouse Edinburgh
Affordable Art Fair
Gallery Oldham
Architects Gallery London
Gallery 23 Stalybridge
Ryburn Gallery
Sausmarez Manor Gallery Guernsey
Wendy Levy Gallery Manchester
The White Room Meltham
The Artizan Gallery Edinburgh
Mill Yard Gallery
The Ox Manchester
Lupton Square Honley
Simon Bull Penrith
Water Street Gallery
Art in the Mill Knaresborough
Blandord Fine Art
Collect Art Lymm
Ascot Studio Ribchester
AC Gallery Huddersfield
Contemporary Six Gallery Manchester