This gallery is a personal project and these images are not available without the artists´ prior consent for how the picture is to be used

The project originally came about through visiting individual artists in their studios to photograph their artwork for books, prints and catalogues. I was aware that many people visit art galleries and may well recognise a particular artist´s style but know less about where and how these people work.

I loved the diverse range of spaces that people were using and the inspirational variety of environments they had created within, reflecting how they worked. Often solitary spaces that reflected the people who used them, these pictures are essentially environmental portraits. Some spaces were organised and expansive, others cluttered and hemmed in. The view ´behind the canvas´ is in contrast to the minimalist environment of the galleries where the public often see the finished pieces, and consequently shows another part of the make up of the artist.

Since starting to record the art movement at the start of a new millennium, sadly, a number of these painters have died making the project have increasing importance. A moment for the viewer to share, a glimpse of the lives behind the scenes, Kurt Jackson working frenetically in a cave bent over his watercolour clenching a brush in his hands and another between his teeth, Colin Scott working in a space at the beginning of the 21st century, but in an old building, imbued with a sense of history of the movement, a space unchanged, that could have been from the Newlyn and St Ives schools dating back to the 19th century. These images are about an artist’s surroundings and lives, a card game in progress, scribbled phrases on beams and walls, stools used as palettes and brooms used as brushes, the artist in his true sanctuary.

The accompanying book ´Behind the Canvas´ featuring forty of the artists is available from book shops, priced £9.99 soft back and £14.99 hard back. Or you can order direct from Simon Cook. Please add £2.50 for post and packing