Comrades show artwork together
COMRADES in Arms is an upcoming exhibition at Saddleworth Museum in Uppermill of the work of three local artists – Kevin Haynes, Cliff Murphy and Rob Lees.
Kevin was born in Waterhead, Oldham, in 1949. He is now semiretired after running his own engineering business for more than 30 years and has started to paint his childhood memories of working people and their environments.
He said: “I am a self-taught artist, having had no formal art training. It has been said that my work is of a naive style with crisp lines and vibrant colours, which create warm unique pictures that capture the times of the northern textile industry.
“I now have my paintings in collections in the UK, Europe, USA, Thailand, China, Australia and New Zealand.
“I was elected into the Manchester Academy of Fine Art, MAFA, in 2017. I am also a member of The Association of British Naïve Artists, ABNA.
“I am honoured to have one of my paintings in the permanent collection of Gallery Oldham.”
Cliff was born in Oldham in 1944. After two years of full-time study at Oldham School of Art, he gained employment at a Manchester advertising agency as a junior artist.
His duties included fetching and carrying and making tea for a group of artists/designers, including John Mayall, the famous blues man.
Some 40 years later Cliff set up at home, focusing on painting and drawing.
He said: “I invested in a large easel and a series of limited edition prints of earlier work.
“One of my paintings was purchased as an 83rd birthday gift for the late Eric Sykes CBE.”
Robert was born in Royton in 1949 and has lived in the town ever since. He qualified to be a mechanical design engineer, running his own engineering consultancy for 22 years until his retirement in 2010.
From 1975 to 1988 he painted every evening. Once he started his business, the demands of work took over and he found little time to paint. Then, after retirement and some soul searching, he started painting again.
Robert’s influences are from the impressionist school – Degas, Manet, Monet and especially Renoir and Turner.
Robert said: “The moorland and countryside with lakes, reservoirs and canals around the area where I live inspire me.
“My landscape paintings are usually in mixed media, primarily in water colour with pastel, water colour pencil, charcoal and chalk.”