David Tress (born 11 April 1955)[citation needed] is a British artist
noted particularly for his deeply personal interpretations of
landscapes in and around his home in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales.
He combines the techniques of collage and impasto with conventional
painting and drawing to produce results that have been categorized as
a form of abstract expressionism.Tress was born in Wembley, northwest
London, and studied at Harrow College of Art before graduating in Fine
Arts from Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham (now Nottingham Trent
University). In 1976 he moved to Pembrokeshire where he has lived ever
since. His wife, Marijke Tress-Braaksma, is also an artist.[citation
needed]Tress was born in Wembley, northwest London, and studied at
Harrow College of Art before graduating in Fine Arts from Trent
Polytechnic, Nottingham (now Nottingham Trent University). In 1976 he
moved to Pembrokeshire where he has lived ever since. His wife,
Marijke Tress-Braaksma, is also an artist.[citation needed]Tress has
followed an unorthodox route to painting. He was first interested by
painter Ben Nicholson, and also the watercolours of John Singer
Sargent. He then came across the Abstract Expressionists which
continue to be an influence. By the time he moved to Wales Tress was
making film, installation and performance art. In Pembrokeshire, Tress
began painting local scenes in water-colour and other media,
developing a highly detailed realism epitomized by works such as
Winter Sun (1983) and First Sun, Preseli (1984).Deciding that he had
reached the limit of what he could achieve with realism alone, he
instead developed an aggressively expressionist style that involves
physically scraping or cutting the painted surface and then repairing
it, building up layer upon layer as if to mimic the seasonal sequence
of decay and regrowth. Tress makes sketches in the field but the final
paintings are done in his studio, relying as much on memory and
emotional response to the subject as on the original drawing. Although
much of his work borders on the abstract, some, particularly his
graphite drawings, is intensely realistic, taking on an almost
photographic quality when viewed from a distance. As well as Wales,
his subjects include landscapes in Scotland, the Lake District,
Ireland and southern France, along with cityscapes of London. David Tress Top Movies & Young Movies