Keeping It In The Family
Now living in East Devon, David Farrant was born in London in 1938 and has enjoyed a hugely successful career as one of the UK's most prominent figurative & portrait painters. His most recent work are much larger figurative pieces, with a touch of narrative!
Art is very much a Farrant family love and concern: his son is the well established figurative artist
Keeping It In The Family
Now living in East Devon, David Farrant was born in London in 1938 and has enjoyed a hugely successful career as one of the UK's most prominent figurative & portrait painters. His most recent work are much larger figurative pieces, with a touch of narrative!
Art is very much a Farrant family love and concern: his son is the well established figurative artist: Jim Farrant and David's wife Laura is very much involved, liaising with select galleries who stock their work.
Career Highlights
His initial training began at Central St. Martin's in London and after graduating he would begin teaching and painting, as he began his professional journey.
David’s art has been showcased at many famous venues over the years including: the Mall Gallery in London, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters & The National Portrait Gallery, which saw him as a finalist in their John Player Award (the forerunner of the BP Award) for Portraiture in 1989.
Alongside his success in galleries, his work is held in private collections all over the world through numerous client commissions.
His Artistic Process
Farrant’s painting process in based around daily routine & structure and this organization he feels releases his creative freedom to take on a plethora of exciting art projects.
Typically, he goes to his studio first thing in the morning & begins painting, taking a break around mid-morning and then for lunch. After this, he works solidly through the day and finishes when he deems appropriate, whether this be 4 pm or midnight!
He paints from memory and from previous sketches or sometimes even photographs, again within the discipline and formal structure of his working day.
Within this carefully balanced routine that David has perfected, he is able to paint to the very best of his creative abilities.
Artistic Inspiration
David creates narratives which he imbues within his imagery, allowing the viewer to observe a sense of purpose and story in each painting.
Viewing his paintings, he is obviously fascinated by light & recreating it. By simply observing and studying everyday people and their movement, he is able to show how light falls upon figures & objects, which draws him (and the viewer) further into his subjects.
Preferred Mediums
The artist favoured medium is acrylic, as this allows him to get stuck straight into his image whenever an idea or source of inspiration arises. Also, because it dries rapidly, Farrant can return to paint on the try canvas surface at his leisure.
Artists He Admires
He is greatly influenced by the likes of his contemporary Ken Howard (1932-2022), as well as artists from previous eras such as: John Singer Sargent, Diego Velazquez and Edouard Manet.
