POPULAR former barman turned artist David Deaves has transformed his upper dale home into an art gallery.
Mr Deaves, best known for pouring pints at Langdon Beck Hotel for 21 years, took up painting ten years ago on advice from a therapist.
Since then, the 59-year-old has built up an extensive portfolio and in 2015, was invited to exhibit at London’s Underdog Art Gallery as part of the Punk Rock ‘n Roll Art Show, where he sold five of his works.
As part of the therapy he was encouraged to explore his childhood, which was filled with artistic impressions.
He said: “My childhood was in St Yves, Cornwall. I was born three minutes from Barbara Hepworth’s studios and myself and all the other toddlers grew up climbing through the Hepworth statues in the gardens.”
It was also home to fisherman artist Alfred Wallis, who was described by renowned artist Kit Wood as “greater than Picasso”.
Mr Deaves said: “In processing all of that, I taught myself to paint. I am a complete autodidact in what I do and I just started to find peace and happiness by doing it.
“I was doing drawings for the therapist and then an artist friend said, ‘okay, your next test is to paint a self-portrait from a mirror.
“It is really difficult, but I painted it and I thought I had climbed Mount Everest. I thought this is it, where did this come from?”
“When I started drawing when I was 49, I thought I am not going to let anybody tell me what to do or how to do it. This is mine. You can do yours, but this is mine.”
Along with portraits, Mr Deaves has dabbled in a variety of subjects including still-life and landscapes in a variety of styles from abstract and mid-century Cornish modernism to psychogeography.
A number of the paintings are inspired by the local landscape and includes a psychogeography piece depicting Harwood and an abstract-impressionist view of Teesdale.
The artist said: “It is magisterial; how can you not be inspired by it? I love the isolation, fresh air, and the thing that is really important to me is that we live in relation to the seasons, so nature is boss up here.”
Mr Deaves’ gallery at Peases Cottage is open each Saturday and Sunday between noon and 6pm.
