October 2011
October 2011 saw the opening of a new exhibition by artist Jonathan Wilkinson at A Month of Sundays; a collection of beautiful and striking pieces from the creative force behind welivehere.co.uk. Jonathan’s distinctive illustrative style lends itself perfectly to the industrial landscapes and sloping hills of Sheffield, and Pete McKee was proud to host the exhibition at his gallery;
‘I was delighted when Jonathan agreed to have his first solo show at my gallery. I rate him as one of the best artists in Sheffield with an appeal that will take him far beyond these city boundaries. His work has a simple beauty but is completely knowing and honours the iconic status some buildings poses whether we realise it or not.
His new pieces for the show are stunning and have an haunted charm reminiscent of one of my favourite artists, Edward Hopper’
Jonathan, a Sheffield resident himself, explains the motivation and inspiration behind the show;
‘A Day in the Life’ is my fond meditation on the small and unnoticed moments that make up our experience of modern British landscape.This collection of paintings and prints aims to amplify familiar scenes that are at once uniquely British but have universal resonance. Together, I call the work Britarama.
From the distant rattle of a milk float and the gloom of a rainy afternoon, to the first flush of the evening and the thunder of the teatime train, A Day in the Life celebrates the things I love about where we live, both in Sheffield and beyond.’
The show also differed from Jonathan’s previous works by utilising a wide colour palette- a move away from the blue, black,and white designs of ‘We Live Here’, and a move towards a more personal, evocative and poetic feel to these works. The exhibition was a sell-out success, and an original painting by Jonathan now hangs proudly in the office at A Month of Sundays.
About Jonathan Wilkinson
Jonathan launched welivehere.co.uk in 2007 and has established a wide reaching fanbase and works with a number of prestigious clients including the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Sage Gateshead, The National Theatre, Sheffield Theatres, Urban Splash and RIBA Yorkshire.
He studied Fine Art Painting and Printmaking at Sheffield Hallam University and upon completion of his fine art degree Jonathan worked as a graphic designer for a number of years and it was during that time that he realised his clean graphic style.
His artworks start life as thumbnail sketches in a sketchbook and other more detailed drawings that follow are then worked up into vector artwork on a computer. When working on a painting he transfers the line work onto board and paints the image with acrylic paint.