About the artist:

Born 25th September 1961. Fine Arts Honours Degree. North Staffs College. As a student Julian worked through the medium of drawing and etching, and it wasn't until opening the studio that Julian seriously began to screenprint his images. The garden theme, first worked upon at college in monochrome, now began to develop in a more individual style, through the use of color, pattern and unusual juxtaposition of nature, arquitecture and figures. Each printmaking process has it's unique qualities, but screenprinting has the most to offer his current work. It is a process he feels most confident with, enjoying the versatility and ability to render such vibrant color. Julian's screenprints are not merely reproductions of his paintings, in fact quite the opposite. Mainly, the paintings are constructed, designed with print in mind, perhaps unconsciously. Knowing the techniques used to screenprint so well, he develops the painting in a similar vein, building up layers of colors, from light to dark, layer upon layer. Artist who had influence on him were Norman Ackroyd and David Inshaw. Latterly the work of the Impressionist and Hopper, Klimpt and Spencer. Julian Askins has enjoyed over 40 exhibitions in the last ten years. Innovative and exuberant, his work as a painter and printmaker captures the heat and light of the Mediterranean and the Caribbean where he stays painting the scenery about him. The richness of color conveys the intimate atmosphere of the places he visits. The heat and light is conveyed by his complementary use of dark inks.