Award-winning English artist Douglas Gray (born 1965, Harrogate) creates realistic yet dreamy scenes of spots in places like London, New York and Paris—showing lonely women in cafés, male friends bonding over beer, the sun over glass, rain over a bridge. Every piece reflects a sense of wonder and great love for the modern city. The painter finds a wealth of creative inspiration from people themselves. He immerses himself in the textures and tones of life and uses the power of his art to ignite the viewer’s imagination and evoke emotions.

Douglas began his professional artistic career in the study of illustration and has enjoyed significant success over a 20-year period with clients including Saatchi and Saatchi, Warner Brothers and Universal Studios. He now concentrates on fine art, specialising in contemporary figurative and cityscape oil paintings.

His commissions include the prestigious Savoy Hotel in London where his painting ‘Cloudbreak, River Thames’ is permanently displayed in the hotel’s River Room. Kiaran MacDonald, Managing Director of The Savoy has said of his work:

Claude Monet famously painted several views of the River Thames from his room on the upper floors of The Savoy during his many visits. As part of the recent refurbishment of the River Room, one of The Savoy’s elegant events rooms, we wanted to commission a contemporary, atmospheric view of the Thames using an artist with great traditional skill. Douglas Gray was the perfect choice and we are delighted with the result.

Douglas Gray is based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. He is represented by galleries in London, Paris, Belgium and Amsterdam. Venues where he has exhibited recently include Thompson’s Gallery (London), Walker Galleries (Harrogate), RSMA Exhibition Mall Galleries (London) and Morren Gallery (Amsterdam). Some of the prizes won by the artist are the Winsor and Newton ‘Best Oil Painting’ award, the Russell and Chapple awards 2012 and 2013, and ‘The Artist’ magazine award. In 2013 he was elected full member of the Royal Society Of Marine Artists (RSMA). His work is featured in celebrity and private collections worldwide.

Links: Website (douglasgray.co.uk) 

Images used with permission.