Phil Hargreaves exhibition at Burton Constable Hall

Phil Hargreaves is a well known local artist in the East Riding of Yorkshire, who has been painting for many years. Now there is a chance to view Phil’s work in the very pleasant setting of Burton Constable Hall’s art space, where Phil is exhibiting a collection of paintings until mid-March 2024.

A tour of the exhibition starts with Phil’s excellent self-portrait, which captures him superbly.

Phil himself may well be on hand to talk you through his exhibition, and is an engaging and friendly man.

Phil evidently likes landscape painting and many of the works on display are of this genre. He is adept at capturing English scenes such as green woods and also more Mediterranean scenes as can be seen above. For these latter type of paintings a different palette of colours is required and of course bright sunlight interplays differently than the more subdued light of Britain.

Phil likes dramatic paintings and this can be seen in the paintings above. Dramatic light paintings and dramatic darker paintings with gushing water. The drama and beauty of nature is captured well.

The deep blue water here on the right above contrasts very well with the white froth of the rapids. A beautiful English stream.

Phil also paints various natural fauna and at the bottom above, second from left can be seen a harvest mouse. This timid little creature peers out from its hiding place in the undergrowth and the viewer wonders if it too has a soul just like us. We are also reminded – and we need to be – that nature is fragile in the face of man’s decimation. The little mouse here looks out warily and metaphorically at the human viewer. I love it.

Phil evidently likes rich blues in his work and in the top left painting above he contrasts the blues of the sky and sea with the red of the cliff face and the rooves of the houses. The houses look small compared with the size and majesty of the East Yorkshire cliffs. Bottom right we have another scene which looks continental European. Here again deep blues contrast with sandstone walls for a strong composition. In fact Phil’s compositions are excellent throughout.

Nature sometimes has regular form and in the paintings above Phil captures the linearity of the forest. I love forests and the top painting with its impenetrable green shadows captures their primordial mystery. As human beings we all emerged from the forest; hence their fascination. Possibly they are a collective memory from aeons ago.

Above we see a whole selection of Phil’s smaller paintings, framed and on sale for very reasonable prices. This is definitely an affordable art exhibition, so if you want to pick up some original art from an engaging local man, then I heartily recommend it. Burton Constable Hall itself and its excellent café will round out a thoroughly fascinating and pleasant afternoon.

For more information about Phil Hargreaves visit his website here.