Stuart Pearson Wright

Wed, 04/12/2024 - 13:11

Same Old Drill. Oil and pigmented gesso on oak. 280mm x 150mm. 2024. This brand new painting (finished at 5am this morning) is at time of writing, on its way to @flowersgallery Cork Street, London, where it will be exhibited as part of the 42nd edition of Small is Beautiful: an annual exhibition of tiny paintings. The exhibition runs until the 4th January 2025. MALE GAZE ALERT! It’s going to be ok. Don’t panic. Yes, I confess I am a male, and yes I did paint a woman here without any clothes and I recognise that these elements combined constitute a Male Gaze. I understand concerns. I have a daughter and I have sisters. An assumption might be that this painting is an objectification of a woman’s body. However, I would like to make the case that this painting is in fact highly subjective. It is born of a collaboration between two people: one with a body and one with a lens, both of them with a sense of humour and each equally and actively invested in the process. Making this painting was an act of devotion. #contemporaryart #contemporarypainting #figurativeart #painting

Tue, 03/12/2024 - 07:20

Daniel Radcliffe. 2006. Pencil, charcoal and collage on paper. This portrait was made as part of an exhibition of portraits of British and Irish actors called Most People are Other People. The exhibition was split across two venues: @nationalportraitgallery and @nationaltheatre Daniel was I think around 16 at the time. I wasn’t sure what to expect when he came for his sitting. He was the world’s most famous child at the time. But he was disarmingly polite and charming. One one occasion I dropped my pencil eraser and he almost launched himself across the room to retrieve it for me. Daniel later bought a painting of mine called Noel and Molly. This drawing was purchased by @nationalportraitgallery and is now in their permanent collection. #danielradcliffe #harrypotter #harrypotteractor #potterfans #contemporaryart #contemporaryart #figurativeart #contemporarydrawing

Mon, 02/12/2024 - 11:45

Homo sapiens and Musca Domestica. 2001. Oil on linen. This is an early self portrait. Pre-beard. A rare image. Appearing here with a housefly who serves as a memento mori (a reminder of mortality) a foil to my narcissism #selfportrait #selbstbildnis #contemporaryart #contemporarypainting #oilpainting #figurativepainting

Sun, 01/12/2024 - 07:19

Norman Rosenthal. 2016. Charcoal on Paper. #portrait #charcoaldrawing #contemporarydrawing #contemporaryart

Thu, 28/11/2024 - 10:36

Orlagh and Keira. 2013. Oil on wood. #contemporaryportraiture #contemporaryart #figurativeart #contemporarypainting

Wed, 27/11/2024 - 07:20

Poet pontificating in the piazza. C. 2007. Somewhere I. Italy, of course. With a good friend @davidlebor I met him in a cafe in 2001 when he approached me to ask if I was a writer. At the time I was writing in my journal with a dip pen and sepia ink (Naturellement) I informed him that I was a painter. David said that he was a poet and performed a little poem about a herring which was redolent in sexual metaphors. He then asked me if I wanted to share a flat with him in Chinatown, which of course I agreed to. David now runs an incredible company helping people to learn foreign languages rapidly: @zinguist.official #poet #piazza #friendship #italy #drawing #contemporarydrawing #contemporaryart

Tue, 26/11/2024 - 06:55

Alas Poor Yorick. 2013. Oil on linen. 1650mm x 1100mm. As I approached my fortieth birthday I realised that I was swiftly approaching peak time for playing the Dane. Each day I waited by the phone in anticipation but the National Theatre never called, nor in fact did the Gate Theatre, Dublin. I must come clean, I received no calls from Directors at all, summoning me to bring my ruff and tights and step forward upon the stage to consider “If it be now, ‘tis not to come: if it be not to come, it will be now: if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all.” And thus, with a heavy heart I resigned myself to the fact that once again I must depend upon my brush to show the world the Hamlet that was being lost to the world with each passing day. Please note, @indhurubasingham @nationaltheatre that I will soon be old enough to play King Lear, just DM me and give me the nod and I’ll start to grow my beard in readiness. #thedane #allhailthebard #shakespeare #allprostateourselvesatshakespearesfeet #gothic #hamlet #painting #figurativepainting #contemporaryart

Mon, 25/11/2024 - 13:43

Homo sapiens, Calliphora vomitoria and Lepidoum sativum. 2002. Oil on linen. I feel deeply ambivalent about this painting. At the time I made it I worked exclusively from life and I was only given four one-hour sittings with the Prince. Thus it was an impossible task to make the work in the way I was accustomed. I was a hopeless photographer and so I brought a professional photographer to one of my sittings. This was pre-digital. And when I received the photos, all of the information about the Prince’s eyes had been lost in the shadows. So I was forced to invent his eyes, using my own as a reference. As a result I always felt the finished painting looked a little cartoonish and veered into the territory of caricature a little too far. He was an irascible sitter, difficult to find some form of accord with, despite my best efforts. When I asked him if he thought my early daubings presented a good likeness, his response was “I bloody well hope not”. Fair enough. Whilst spraying a charcoal drawing of the prince with fixative spray, I stepped out into one of the balconies at Buckingham palace. (I couldn’t possibly spray fixative inside). I was physically dragged back into the room, away from the balcony by a Queen’s guard who with great exasperation, explained that I could have been shot at… I was confused. Might they have thought I was Prince Andrew? The fly? Well that’s a memento mori. And the cress seeds, you ask? A reference to the four heirs to the throne he so considerately provided as ‘Royal-seed-bearer’: a distillation of his role. The Royal Society of Arts who commissioned this, told me to shove it where the sun didn’t shine and I had to make another version for them: just a head. I still can’t work out what their objection was. #portrait #contemporaryportrait #nudeportrait #nudeprincephilip #nakedqueenshusband #nudegreekguy #contemporaryart

Sun, 24/11/2024 - 10:48

Chicken and Cheesegrater. C.2001. Oil on linen. A rare still-life. Naked Chickens were a bit of a thing for me in the early 2000s. (Not in a sexual way I should add). They served as a useful visual metaphor for human mortality. I used to study anatomy in the bowels of @uclh whilst a student at @sladeschool in the late 90s and spent a lot of time with dead guys and bits of dead guys, so I was thinking a great deal about mortality in those days. I remember being terrified of death. These days I have reconciled myself to the idea of death and sense that it is simply a step into another state of being. Not planning to go that way anytime soon however. #death #deadchicken #mortality #mementomori #contemporarypainting #contemporaryart

Tue, 19/11/2024 - 11:17

This is a one time special offer, available until the 15th December, 2024. Place an order for a one-hour sketch in Pitt Oil pencil and charcoal. You can supply your own photograph or else a sitting from life can be arranged, depending on your global location. The cost is £350 + P & P. This offer is for a single human or animal drawn on an A4 piece of paper. If you require multiple figures or pets in your portrait, please contact Stuart directly at studio@stuartpearsonwright.com. To place an order go to my website shop linked in my bio.

Sun, 17/11/2024 - 12:42

Today I’m thinking about my Father as it’s his birthday. He conceived me by artificial insemination back in 1975 and supposed that was the end of our connection. I won’t pretend that it was easy growing up not knowing my Father. I experienced his absence and the lack of knowledge of him as a deep open wound, one which it was impossible to grieve for. In 2018 I did a DNA test. It revealed a great deal, including some complex issues entirely separate to my paternity which were shattering in their enormity, but the clues suggested by the results led me eventually to uncover my Father’s identity. I established contact through a third party. This was terrifying. I had very minimal expectations and was braced for rejection/hostility/denial. Instead I received a warm and curious invitation for me to visit him. This gracious, generous and authentic man warmly welcomed me to the family with a bottle of champagne. It’s an unusual situation to begin to know one’s parent in one’s forties but the process has been an incredible journey. I have been fully assimilated into a wonderful family and they have all treated me with great compassion and love. So I will be raising a toast today to my extraordinary Father, and to Fathers everywhere who turn up and hold the space for their kids one way or another. I for one, am feeling intensely grateful to this beautiful man who I now call Dad. #dad #father

Thu, 14/11/2024 - 14:34

Roadkill. Oil and pigmented gesso on oak. 2024. 230mm x 180mm. This tiny painting will form part of the forthcoming Group exhibition: Small is Beautiful, 42nd Edition, at Flowers gallery, 21 Cork street, London, from 21st November 2024- 4th January 2025. The private view is on the 21st from 6pm. If you are in London, come along and say hi. #painting #contemporarypainting #contemporaryart #selfportrait #metamorphoses #anthropomorphism #figurativeart #squirrelman #shithappens

Wed, 13/11/2024 - 18:26

Kally. 2024. Pitt oil pencil on paper. #muse #sleep #portrait #dreamer #pencildrawing #contemporarydrawing #contemporaryart #figurativeart

Mon, 04/11/2024 - 07:22

The Whaler’s Tale. 2010. Oil on linen. #portrait #americana #rogersandhammerstein #carousel #1950s #contemporaryart #figurativeart as I child my Mother and I continually watched Carousel, aside that is, from when we came up for air to watch Flash Gordon. I love Carousel. This is my wonderful cousin Jim reimagined as a whaler from that movie

Sat, 02/11/2024 - 08:47

Royston Vasey. C. 2004? Oil on linen. #leagueofgentlemen #bookcoverart #painting #contemporarypainting #contemporaryart #figurativeart #comedy

Thu, 31/10/2024 - 17:39

Happy Halloween folks. The Spectre of Brave Alonzo. 2013. Porcelain, steel and mixed media. #sculpture #gothic #halloween #spooky #ceramicsculpture #porcelain #contemporarysculpture

Thu, 31/10/2024 - 12:49

Hugo Guinness. Oil and pigmented gesso on oak. 2024. It was a great pleasure to paint this commissioned portrait of the inestimable and so very charming Mr Guinness. If you are unfamiliar with his artwork, do follow the tag. He is also a very talented writer, having won an Oscar with the wonderful Wes Anderson for the script they wrote together for Grand Budapest Hotel. #commissionedportrait #oilportrait #oilpainting #figurativepainting #contemporarypainting #wesanderson #grandbudapesthotel

Sun, 27/10/2024 - 08:21

Stepdad. 2015. Oil on linen. #complexfamilies #halfboy #artificialinsemination #donorconception

Thu, 24/10/2024 - 10:51

The Jilted Man. 2024. Oil and pigmented gesso on seventeenth century oak. 180mm x 230mm. This small painting will be exhibited at Flowers Gallery, Cork Street London from 21st November 2024 - 4th January 2025 as part of the Group Exhibition Small is Beautiful. Private view is on Thursday 21st November. 6-8pm. Flowers Gallery, 21 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LZ It’s problematic to present a work of this nature without some form of explanation as to its context and inception. Whilst I don’t like to overshare, I think it’s pointless to deny that the last twelve months have been the hardest of my life. Nothing lasts forever, of course. I am reminded however that artists are fortunate in that the work they make can sometimes offer catharsis, and help in processing grief. I’m also mindful that beyond my own personal, emotional turmoil of recent years is a planet at war with itself: human beings destroying each other with such ferocity and hatred that it begs the inevitable question: what the fuck is humanity doing to itself and the planet we call home? It’s like watching a car crash in slow motion and feeling powerless to stop it. And yet, often our own troubles have the power to eclipse the troubles of others. So if this painting is about grief, loss and despair, it is not just about personal grief but a kind of Weltschmerz or ‘world-pain’. I despair for where we find ourselves at this point in history. #grief #worldpain #loss #dumped #jilted #lovedeath #liebestod #divorce #pain #selfportrait #oilpainting #portrait #contemporaryportraiture #chooselove #weltschmerz #wtf #catharsis #mentalhealth #separation #figurativepainting #contemporaryart

Wed, 23/10/2024 - 07:11

OMG. Oil and pigmented gesso on Oak. 2023. 18cm x 23cm. This was exhibited last year @flowersgallery as part of their annual Small is Beautiful exhibition. Watch this space to see my entries for this year’s exhibition. #oilpainting #contemporarypainting #figurativepainting