\n Roger Davies, who grew up and still lives in Brighouse, describes his work as \u201ccommercial artwork\u201d – art created with the hope that someone might want to live with it in their home.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s inspired by aspects of my locality,\u201d Mr Davies said. \u201cI really love where I live, so that becomes the subject matter. I\u2019ve always been interested in artists who use what\u2019s on their doorstep.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Although encouraged to pursue art while attending Brighouse High School, Mr Davies said he didn\u2019t fully settle into his style while studying at art college. After leaving school in the year 2000, he stopped painting altogether.\n<\/p>\n
A creative turning point at 40<\/p>\n
\n Mr Davies returned to creating artwork in 2017 \u2014 on his 40th birthday.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI just had all these images in my imagination,\u201d he said. \u201cI thought maybe I could try and make some artwork again.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n That decision led to a successful local exhibition at the Harrison and Lord Gallery in Brighouse, surprising Mr Davies and giving him the confidence to pursue painting full\u2011time. Eight years later, he now runs his own gallery space, which doubles as a studio where visitors can watch him work.\n<\/p>\n
\n Roger\u2019s paintings focus on recognisable local buildings and locations across Calderdale and beyond, including Brighouse, Halifax, Elland, Huddersfield and Bradford, often featuring places connected to personal memories.\n<\/p>\n
Painting places with personal connections<\/p>\n
\n One recent subject is the former Ritz Ballroom in Brighouse, which burned down last year.\n<\/p>\n
\n He explained: \u201cIt was a really thriving night spot\u2026 I used to go jive dancing there years ago, and when I was a teenager walking around Brighouse with my sketchbook, it was always something I\u2019d draw.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Mr Davies works primarily from photographs but says realism isn\u2019t his goal.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cMy paintings aren\u2019t meant to look like photographs,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re heavily stylised. Some people say they look a bit like cartoons, because I draw everything out first using charcoal and bold lines.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Having worked on hundreds of paintings over the years, Mr Davies said choosing a favourite is difficult.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI like any picture I actually manage to finish,\u201d he said. \u201cThey might look straightforward, but they\u2019re not as easy as they look.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Local reactions and expanding the gallery<\/p>\n
\n \u00a0Since opening his gallery, Mr Davies often hears passers\u2011by recognising familiar scenes in his window displays.\n<\/p>\n
\n He recalled: \u201cI hear people saying, \u2018I\u2019ve been there\u2019 or \u2018that\u2019s the old cinema\u2026It\u2019s interesting hearing what connects with people.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Alongside original paintings and prints, Mr Davies\u2019 gallery also sells locally themed gifts including jigsaws, mugs, cushions, tea towels and greetings cards.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI\u2019ve been getting away with it for eight years now,\u201d he laughed. \u201cSo, we\u2019ll see how it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roger Davies, who grew up and still lives in Brighouse, describes his work as \u201ccommercial artwork\u201d – art…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":525150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-525149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/525150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}