Contemporary Fine Art @ The Piper Art Bar

Christopher Skripek became a professional artist in the early 1990's after 10 years as a Graphic Designer. Working initially as an illustrator for retail companies such as The English Teddy Bear Company and Hamley's, he went on to illustrate for greetings card and fine art motorsport publishers. Throughout this period he also pursued print-making and worked as an etcher, creating elaborate, monochromatic etchings of historic buildings for the National Trust and the Chatsworth Estate. Gradually, watercolour illustration and etching gave way to large canvas work as his painting became stronger and more confident, leading to more widespread representation by galleries. In recent years his large black and white cityscapes in mixed media have developed as a result of his love of buildings, monochromatic printmaking and a passion for black and white films of yesteryear. This work is now much sought after. "I seemed to struggle for many years to find a voice as it were - my interests were so diverse. But I knew what really interested me and my work in recent years is really an accumulation of these interests. Admiration of the Old Masters like Turner and Rembrandt - the richness and romance of their work is never far from my mind. And film-makers of the 30's, 40's and 50's, their dramatic, lighting effects, especially film noir. Painting with only black and white seems to liberate my mind, allowing it to concentrate on tone and form - the contrasts