JACK THE LAD It's A Man Thing
Canvas edition of 195 Image 24" x 17" Framed £399
KEiTH HAS HAD a deep love of art ever since he was a child. He started drawing at a very young age guided by his late father, commercial artist Mark proctor. "My dad set me right as far as sketching is concerned," he said. "He taught me never to draw a straight line and to always break lines up, and I follow his advice to this day. Knowing how to draw fairly well is important, but I think it's vital to learn to paint naturally and learn from your own mistakes." His debut collection for Washington Green, Jack the Lad, is inspired by his young son Jack, but gloriously encapsulates the natural innocence, instinct, curiosity and joyous spontaneity of all children - everyone's son or grandson. "For me children are free spirits without the weight of the world on their shoulders yet. They are truly natural and that's what I always try to portray in my paint-
ings – the simple innocence and freedom of childhood.." Jack is also the source of some of the titles for the paintings such as 'Bzzz', which, says Keith, is an instant, natural, honest response to what he sees. Letting children develop in their own natural way is something Keith deeply believes in. "When children are very young their minds are open to everything, and seeing Jack very deep in thought one day put me in mind of how Einstein was a little boy once too. I tried to epitomise all the future possibilities that there are at this age in 'I Have A Dream', with green chalking on the ground next to Jack's feet spelling out E = MC² and pink chalking depicting the peace symbol." Since the mid 80s Keith has earned his living as an artist. His first job was working from a little barrow at the Metrocentre SpRING 2010 FInE ART COLLECTOR 5