Stephen Warnes Fine Art - A Portfolio Introduction

Stephen Warnes is a fine artist with a large portfolio, including the fine art prints on canvas in our collection here - Stephen Warnes Fine Art Collection. Here we've gone beyond our collection to discuss just some of the work he has painted over the last 52 years. Having been painting since the age of 6, and with a prolific output - there is a lot to discover outside of our fine art canvas prints collection. If you are interested in any of these original paintings, or would like to see larger versions of the artworks - please contact us.

Stephen's working class Lancashire upbringing was a grey and austere place. However, on the edges of the mill town where he grew up were the moors and upland meadows of the Pennines. From an early age, the love of this natural world has inspired many of his huge number of fascinating landscape paintings. Growing up, he also developed an interest in his lifelong favourites, the work of William Blake and the modern movements of Dada and Surrealism.

Social Histories

Social and historical themes have always fascinated Stephen, and over the years he has developed a number of surrealist paintings that explore these areas.

1) Smile Boys That's The Style - 30"x24" - 2003 - £9,000 - This large acrylic painting commemorates the Battle of the Somme, and has been exhibited alongside works from the Imperial War Museum. A tribute to the 'pals' battalions who were in the front line on the first morning - from their journey to France to their ultimate fate.

2) Europe Hard Road - 32"x23" - 1992 - £2,250 - This painting explores the road of Europe, its long history and the struggle of Europeans through times of war and suffering. The long march of everyman from feudal domination to Guernica and the Prague Spring in the foreground.

3) Spirit Journey - 30"x24" - 1999 - £8,750 - Once exhibited alongside works by L.S.Lowry, this compositional painting explores the deep relationship between people of the industrial north and the Lake District.

Railway Paintings

During his childhood, steam engines were a source of interest and excitement for Stephen and his school friends - who marvelled at the noise, the smoke and the opportunities to discover the world that they offered. A full member of the prestigious Guild of Railway artists, Stephen has revisited railway themes throughout his long career.

4) Cumbrian Coast - 30"x24" - 2002 - £Private Collection - This Turner inspired acrylic painting pictures a local train as it skirts one of the many bays on the Cumbrian coast between Workington and Barrow.

5) Citadel 150 - 30"x22" - 1997 - £3,250 - Painted to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Carlisle's Citadel station, the work features a complex series of divisions which feature aspects of the history of this railway city.

6) To The Seaside - 24"x18" - 1989 - £595 - This somewhat stylised view of a Blackpool Express train shows a Patriot class engine about to take its eager passengers to the seaside.

Imaginative Works

As primarily a fine artist, as opposed to a commercial artist - Stephen has had the opportunity to let his imagination travel where it wants to with his painting. He has produced a large number of surrealist works which have evolved into powerful artworks with multiple meanings.

7) Pat's Song - 19"x14" - 1986 - £895 - A watercolour artwork inspired by lyrics from 1960's band Country Joe & The Fish - "She will stand in the sea with her body like sand. Dolphins will come, kiss the palms of her hands".

8) City of Revelation - 60"x40" - 1986 to 2006 - £7,500 - This epic painting was begun in the mid 1980's, with further attempts at completion over two decades, until finally finished last year. 

9) Street Scene 20"x16" - 1985 - £445 - A watercolour showing that even walking down a street presents a vastly complex series of interactions.

Landscapes

Landscapes have featured in Stephen's work for many years, and have been the most popular of his paintings for private collectors. In particular, the countryside in Cumbria, where the artist now lives, has proved inspirational.

10) Energy is Eternal Delight - 39"x36" - 1986 - £5,500 - William Blake's quotation is applied to the energy of the atmosphere in this Lancashire milltown scene.

11) Vesuvio - 16"x12" - 2000 - £450 - Painted in situ on a hillside overlooking the Bay of Naples, the mighty Vesuvius is pictured in the background behind an ancient olive tree.

12) Sunset Mote of Mark - 24"x20" - 2007 - £695 - A forest of rivers drain into the Solway Firth in this fascinating landscape painting painted on a hillside in Southwest Scotland. 

1st June 2009