A letter from me to you!

Hi there, 

My name is Sam Cleasby. I am a British painter based in Québec, Canada. I am a versitile artist. I work in oils, acrylics, and watercolors, and I am happy to make work for you as a commission or you can purchase of my other paintings or prints on the site. 

I graduated from Oxford Brookes University in 2016, and I have been working as a painter ever since. I have exhibited my paintings in Oxford, Bristol, Manchester, as well as villages across the north of England, and I have also had the chance to show my work here too in Québec City - the cultural capital of a thriving province for the arts. 

I was born in the north of England and spent my childhood and teenage years in a rural English village. Growing up in such a beautiful part of England had a huge influence on me. For me, nature is home, and it is natural motifs, trees, rivers, sky, flowers, mountains, hills, the sun, and the moon, that often return to my palette.

I also had the good fortune of being able to live and study in some of the greatest cities in the world. Paris, Oxford, Manchester, and Québec. These urban centres have also had a huge influence on my understanding of painting. Afternoon strolls around Paris and its great museums were once a casual pastime, and I think that my visual memory of how great paintings ought to look has been influenced by this in some way. I am also an active sketch-hunter. For me, there is no greater pleasure than sitting down with my coffee and a sketchbook and making vivid, dynamic sketches of the urban or rural landscape with my biro.

I would consider my work as post-impressionist. I take great inspiration from the great European painters of the 19th century; Van Gogh, Cezanne, Monet, Turner, Matisse, and the North American painters who painted similarly, for example, I find the work of the Canada Seven Group particularly inspiring. I paint because I love to record the beauty of the natural and urban landscape. My work is in thick bold colour because I feel that is the best way to extrapolate the tones, light, and texture of what I see. 

I hope that you enjoy looking at my work on the site as well as in my YouTube tutorial videos.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Sam Cleasby