Recent Work, November 2016

Best known as a painter of dramatic english landscape, oliver akers douglas’ second solo show at portland gallery is a tribute to the chalk downland of south wiltshire.

Renowned as an area of outstanding beauty, the landscape where oliver lives and works is distinctive for its unusually steep-sided hills. The title of the show makes reference to this topography while also echoing the type of place names one might encounter there.

Painted exclusively outdoors in front of the scene, oliver's landscape paintings place him within a grand tradition of en pleine aire artists. However, being largely self-taught oliver's techniques and practice are all his own. With the use of a land rover which doubles as an outdoor studio, oliver is able to produce large works which previously artists would have had to complete indoors. The results are ambitious paintings displaying all the boldness and urgency of being produced directly from life. They bear witness to fleeting weather conditions and often include wonderful towering skies.

Applied thickly with a palette knife, the paint is handled with a rare boldness and freedom of gesture, creating sumptuous textured surfaces bursting with energy and life.

The exhibition will include more than 50 new works painted in both colour and in monochrome, and includes several still lifes. Described by critic matthew dennison as 'the foremost landscape artist of his generation' oliver's work is keenly followed and can be found in numerous public and private collections.