RETIRED theatre designer and scenic artist Simon Pell has an exhibition of recent paintings at Teesdale Community Resources Hub, Barnard Castle.
Titled A Celebration of Colour, the exhibition which is full of works in vibrant expression of abstract shapes, opens on March 10 and runs until May 22.
Many will remember Simon for his creative work with The Castle Players, where he brought Shakespeare to life using his skills as both theatre designer and director. Born in Leicester and trained at Loughborough College of Art and The Slade School of Fine Art in London, Simon considers himself to be a local, having lived in Barnard Castle for 45 years.
He recently retired after 45 years earning a living as a freelance theatre designer and scenic artist, including periods working at the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, and in the West End.
In 1987, he came north to work on a six-month contract for Durham Theatre Company, after which he “forgot” to return south to London. He has lived in Barnard Castle ever since.
During his career in the arts, he worked for numerous theatre and arts companies in the region – including regular stints at the Gala Theatre in Durham, the Richmond Georgian Theatre Royal, Welfare State International, Jack Drum Arts, Middlesbrough College Theatre, Blaize Theatre Co, North Country Theatre, and many others.
For many years, the primary artistic inspiration for his own work has been the picturesque and often dramatic landscape of Teesdale, and through his abstract and semi-abstract paintings he experiments with the expressive, non-naturalistic visual power of colour, form and texture.
His paintings have a fresh, unique quality, celebrating vibrant colour using techniques he has adopted over the years.
With lots of free time now on his hands he loves going for long, solitary walks, then returning to his studio at home to paint. All his paintings are for sale.
