When Julian Bailey paints in oil he works on board, enjoying the resistance of the hard surface.  ‘I have a fairly wide range of colours, but try to limit my palette as much as possible in one painting.  I try to keep the colours fresh and clean, using clearly visible brush strokes which define the objects.  I want the finished paintings to look spontaneous with everything in the right place, even if it has actually taken a lot of time with many changes and repainting.’  The results do look remarkably effortless and spontaneous. His figures are full of attitude, while his landscapes reach for the anatomy of the countryside and find just as much character and form as he puts into his figures. His paintings give the sense of being in that place at that moment, just when everything came together to make something remarkable.

Julian Bailey lives with his family near Dorchester in Dorset. Born in 1963, he had his first successful exhibition at Malvern Public Library when he was still at school.  He studied art at the Ruskin School while attending New College, Oxford and then went on to the Royal Academy Schools where he was awarded the Turner Gold Medal and later the Landseer Scholarship.

He had his first one-man show in London in 1991 and has exhibited regularly since, joining Browse & Darby in Cork Street in 1999 as their youngest artist. He and his family moved to Dorset in 1998 when Julian began to paint landscapes, particularly the Dorset coast. In 2011 he was elected to join the New English Art Club and awarded the David Messum Prize. He also won the Manya Igel prize that year. His work is in numerous collections including HRH The Prince of Wales, New College Oxford, Pembroke College Oxford, Reed Executive, Old Mutual Assurance, Daiwa Bank, SG Warburg and more. He has shown at Sladers Yard since 2007 with three solo shows and numerous group shows.

To enquire about Julian Bailey’s work please phone us on 01308 459511 or email gallery@sladersyard.co.uk,