Moorland Landscapes by Gareth Buxton

Gareth Buxton has rapidly developed a reputation as a popular yet unconventional painter with a taste for mist, moonlight and stormy weather.

His dramatic landscapes and seascapes are inspired by places, memories and emotions. Many of his paintings show a battle between darkness and light. This interplay creates a mood of tension and drama in his work.

“Elements like the wind, rain, dark skies; the moon and the light bursting through the clouds stimulate me profoundly. Landscape painting for me goes beyond literal representation of the land: it’s as much about representing me and my state of mind.”

Gareth's paintings are never literal reproductions or copies of the landscape.  He takes great inspiration from his Peak District home and makes regular treks to Snowdonia for inspiration.  He does not however work in situ and rejects the convention of painting in this traditional manner.

“All of my paintings are the result of time spent walking, absorbing the atmosphere, experiencing the surroundings and memorising elements of the landscape."

In being outdoors, particularly exposed to the elemental forces of storms, wind and rain he is responding to the landscape emotionally.  Essentially he is following the Romantic tradition, suspending rationality and reason for a spiritual connection with nature.

"I love being out there, feeling part of a bigger process, a tiny dot in a gigantic landscape at the total mercy of nature. I guess that’s why I have chosen to mainly paint landscapes and seascapes.  I hope people have empathy for those experiences when they see the finished paintings.

Gareth has been inspired and influenced by a range of artists, in particular;  J. M. W. Turner, Caspar David Friedrich and James Abbott Whistler

“My view of my local Derbyshire landscape is often stormy, rainy and indistinct. People, buildings and other details rarely feature in the work, as I prefer to allow the voices of hills, rain and light to speak for themselves."