14   THE ART OBSERVER By Jennie Keegan IT IS THAT TIME of the year again when Manchester’s newest batch of art graduates can take a step back and admire three years of hard work at their final degree show. The city has a certain buzz during the summer months with different art events going on but the place to catch the latest talent on the art circuit is at the university and college’s degree shows. It is like tapping into the unknown art resources of the city and discovering something which has not been made public knowledge yet. So, too, was the success of the University of Salford’s Visual Art degree show that even Newsnight’s Jeremy Paxman came along for a look. Whilst making a journey to Manchester for another episode of University Challenge, Jeremy Paxman took a detour to Salford and paid a visit to the degree show. The show exhibited a wide range of media from painting and sculpture to photography and film. Film has become more popular over these last few years and this was clearly evident in the students work at the exhibition. Films based on titles such as ‘Rise and Shine’, ‘Sleep Tight’ and ‘The Stalker’ were some of the more popular ones which engrossed the public. Sculpture took place in various forms with beautiful bronze animal sculptures on display and garments shaped and set in wax ‘floating’ in mid air. To balance out with the more avant garde pieces of work was the presence of paintings, a varied mixture of landscape, portrait and abstract styles. There were also huge textile pieces on show incorporating colour, pattern and texture into big fabulous canvases. Along with film, there was a series of photographs celebrating feminine culture based on the theme of burlesque. Some graduates expressed their ideas through installation such as a display of hollow T.V’s containing the work of other artists and a metal and spray paint collabora- tion inspired by street art. The exhibition was a fusion of creativity and an encouraging beginning for this new group of graduates. THE PICK OF THE MIX July 2006 Jeremy Paxman The Feather Fan Dance by Jennie Keegan By Sarah Crane DEREK BRADBURY was born in Wilmslow, Cheshire and studied at The Regional College of Art, Manchester where he graduated with a National Diploma in Graphic Design. He started his career in advertising and during that time he was commissioned to produce illustrations for books and magazines. He later set up his own successful retail business from which he retired in 1990 to become a full-time painter. His recent April exhibition at the Wendy Levy Gallery confirmed his popularity as an established landscape artist. He notes that he has “always been fascinated by landscape. I have never been able to bury my head in a book on a train journey for example: I have to watch the changing landscape. Cityscapes too I find impelling, especially the medieval cities of Italy”. However, Derek doesn’t limit his paintings to one locale in particular; indeed; most of them are sourced from a variety of walking holidays. For instance, he loves the quality of light to be found in the Isles of Sicily and the Mediterranean but he is also intrigued by the fantastic views to be found in the North of Scotland and plans to re-visit the Outer Hebrides soon. His main inspiration is the effect that light, colour and pattern play on the landscape but composition is usually foremost in his mind, or “the abstract arrangement of the elements on the picture plane”. With every new painting, he tries to “create an interesting geometric structure that gives movement and leads the eye around”. Derek often works directly from photographs taken during his many travels and usually uses several for one image as well as a “heightened visual memory” which he agrees has developed over time. Derek prefers to paint away from the motif and let the painting dictate its own course, making fewer references to the source material as the picture progresses. Currently, Derek is working on a commission, brought about by April’s exhibition. It involves a big canvas and the subject of Lakeland fells, a challenge which Derek is finding very enjoyable. Paintings have always held an immense fascination for this artist and will continue to do so. He freely admits “the first thing I do when entering a room for the first time is to scan all walls for paintings!” Love of the Landscape The Blaze by Jennie Keegan