YORKSHIRE pastel artist David Greenwood is painting in York this week, as he undertakes commissions to depict buildings in the city.

Meanwhile, Kentmere House Gallery curator Ann Petherick is exhibiting Greenwood's work until December 2 in a show entitled Carving With Light.

The gallery, in Scarcroft Hill, York, is open every Thursday from 6pm to 9pm and on the first weekend of each month, as well as at other times by arrangement on 01904 656507 or 07801 810825. This Saturday and Sunday's opening hours will be 11am to 5pm.

Greenwood has been a professional artist since 1990, having initially taught adult literacy and studied for a Humanities degree before taking the bold step of becoming a full-time artist.

York Press:

Caspar the dog, sitting for a portrait by David Greenwood

"His work is achieving a rapidly growing reputation, both regionally and nationally," says Ann. "He has exhibited in galleries in Lancashire, Scotland, Kent and Sussex, and in London at the Royal Academy and with the Pastel Society at the Mall Galleries.

"In Yorkshire, he has shown in prestigious galleries across the county, including the nave of Bradford Cathedral, where he was the artist in residence last Easter and has been invited again for 2019."

Greenwood's subject matter is wide-ranging, from architecture and landscapes to abbeys, racing scenes and portraits, including dogs. "He excels at all," says Ann. "He usually works in pastel or oil pastel, with occasional touches of lustre pastel to emphasise details, but also works in oil.

"His work has a rugged and spontaneous quality and has been described as 'balanced on the delicate boundary between abstraction and realism'."

York Press:

David Greenwood's canine portrait of Casper

Greenwood enjoys working outdoors, braving the Yorkshire weather, such as along the Leeds-Liverpool Canal, near to his West Yorkshire home.

"His recent move from Bingley into a new home and studio in Keighley has given him a new lease of life and his work has forged ahead," says Ann.

"He's always loved York and its buildings and delights in the contrasts between the bustling streets and the quiet abbey scenes."

In the 1990s, Greenwood produced a series of paintings of Yorkshire abbeys, a subject matter that suited his style well, resulting in their appearance in the publication Bare, Ruined Choir.

"David is also an accomplished portrait painter and was included in Facing North, in which artists' self-portraits were published, in 2007," says Ann.

York Press:

Keighley artist David Greenwood at work

Greenwood's influences are eclectic. "I'm fascinated by the Palaeolithic cave painters, medieval stained glass workers and the modern masters, such as Roualt, Giacometti, Marc & Macke," he says.

"Closer to home, I love the neo-romanticism of John Piper and the earthy expressiveness of Joan Eardley. The recent master, in my view, is the vastly underestimated David Bomberg.

"I'm inspired by light and its shadow – colour. I like to ‘carve with light’, which is another reason why I enjoy the immediacy of the chalk stick, rather than the flaccid brush, and this suits all the more my sheer joy in making pure pigment marks on a textured surface."

Hence the exhibition title that captures his distinctive way of painting.