About the exhibition

As we slowly emerge from lockdown, it is with great delight that we launch our 2021 exhibition with landscape artist Alan Thompson. What a perfect way to reacquaint ourselves with the wonders of this most beautiful part of the world after such a prolonged absence.

With a keen appreciation for the natural beauty that surrounds us, Alan Thompson captures the landscape quite perfectly with his supremely skilful use of oil paint. His exquisite paintings, so expertly executed and well composed, are a pleasure to behold and this new collection of 50 paintings is no exception. Alan’s ability to suffuse a painting with just enough light, elevating an otherwise ordinary scene to the extraordinary, is one of his trademarks, along with his eye for detail, depth of vibrant colour and of course sheer technical skill. Painting in every season, Alan captures everything that the landscape has to offer in all weathers, conveying that particular moment in time with his natural and instinctive talent.

Living on the edge of the Lake District in the peaceful Eden Valley with his wife Kathryn, Alan is surrounded by inspirational subject matter and is forever chasing the light, searching for the view that might create the perfect composition.

Alan was born in 1953 near Penrith and studied at Carlisle College of Art before gaining a first class honours degree at Leicester. A post graduate scholarship to the famed Slade School of Art, University College London followed where he studied under Uglow, Freud and Coldstream leading to a very successful professional career. His biennial landscape exhibition at Beckstones is always a high point of our exhibition calendar with collectors all over the world eagerly awaiting the new release.

So if it’s been way too long since you last saw the Lake District in all its glory, sit back, relax and enjoy this beautiful collection.

A word from Alan

One could never have imagined how life would be for us all during the two years since my last exhibition. It has made me realise how we should take nothing for granted, cherish and value what we have, and how lucky I am to live in Cumbria, amongst its varied and ever changing landscape. It also goes without saying that to have spent my life painting this landscape (and making a living from it) has been a huge privilege. So here is my latest collection, some subjects within lockdown (walking distance from home), the rest from Eden and the Lakes. The usual struggles preoccupy me, finding suitable subjects, arranging them compositionally within the picture rectangle, capturing an impression of the light, the weather, the drama of the seasons, with enough detail and colour that I’m able to with brushes and oil paint.

Thanks for viewing my latest work. I hope I’ve been able to convey some of the beauty of this amazing landscape, its trees, fields, walls, its mountains, rivers, clouds, storms and sunshine, mists and frosts. Thanks also to all at Beckstones for their hard work putting the exhibition together in these challenging times.