DAVID
EUSTACE R.B.A.
“Headlong
into Spring”
Oil
and Acrylic on Board. 12” x 12”. Signed IMAGE
“Empty Glass”
Oil and Acrylic on
Board. 8” x 9 ½”. Signed IMAGE
“Entertaining a Small Dog”
Oil and Acrylic on Board. 8”
x 9 ½”. Signed IMAGE
David Eustace studied at Sutton
Coldfield School of Art, Exeter College of Art and Leicester Polytechnic after
which he spent two years in the United States working as a muralist. Although firmly rooted in the best figurative
painting traditions he found he was able to produce images which seemed to
emanate from halfway between the conscious and subconscious. Stanley Spencer is an obvious influence along
with Otto Dix, de Chirico and Atkinson Grimshaw. To speed up the process of
putting his ideas down onto canvas, he uses acrylic first to work out and
change his composition. Acrylic dries
very quickly and allows alterations to be made instantly. Once David is happy with the layout, he
overpaints in oil using brushes, palette knife and kitchen scourers which gives
a soft finish to painted strokes. The
result is that his paintings are quite theatrical. They are also the most amusing conversation
pieces, being packed with small details and illusory references. One of David's
greatest assets, apart from his skill as a painter, is his incredible
imagination. Together with his highly
individual sense of humour this serves to give an air of absolute fantasy to
many of his paintings. In addition David
plays the drums in a rhythm and blues band. "I was with the Junk Yard
Angels for many years and now play with a four-man group called
Shufflebones. Jazz is a major part of my
life". David has had several one-man exhibitions in London and the West
Country. He has also exhibited in mixed shows in London; Birmingham; Bath;
Massachusetts, U.S.A.; Toronto, Canada; Devon; Plymouth and at the Mall
Galleries, where he won the David Wolfers Memorial Price; the Royal Academy Summer Show and the South
West Academy, where he was awarded The Marine House at Beer Prize. He also won
a £1000 prize at the South West Academy in June 2003 for a large painting of a
whale.
