3 THE  ART OBSERVER May 2008 By Kelly Moralee SEPTEMBER ‘07  saw the return of another solo show by Liam Spencer at the Wendy J Levy Contemporary Art Gallery amid a flurry of red dots and eager anticipation. The amazing success of this exhibition is a testament to Liam’s ongoing popularity with an ever-growing fan base and the consistent quality of his paintings. In a bid to fairness, a catalogue of the paintings to be exhibited, was sent out prior to the open- ing night to all of Liam’s devo- tees - there was no mistaking its arrival as the gallery phone rang off the hook that morning with an overwhelmingly positive response. Incredibly, every painting was sold before the opening and when preview night arrived the atmosphere was electric as everyone jostled for the first view of their newly acquired Spencers. In the wake of the September success, I went to the artist himself to discover a little more about his work, future plans and past inspirations. This latest collection of recent paintings confirmed the artist’s definite shift away from a primarily Manchester scene focus. Inspired by a recent business trip to China and a holiday to Cornwall the subject matter of these works showed a much broader scope. Liam explains that the Manchester scenes he so often captured were a case of accessi- bility, he painted what he saw and loved, his environment was almost exclusively the North West but over the last few years trips further a field are allowing Liam a wider range of inspira- tion. Recently working on a project of Istanbul, Liam’s dream is to visit Cuba. Drawn by the beautiful crumbling architecture and vintage cars, we are bound to see a continuation of his vibrant palette that was so evident in the September show. Dominated by the vivid green, seen in ‘TGI Fridays, Beijing 2006’ and bright turquoise of ‘Surfers on the Skyline’, ‘St Michael’s Mount’ and ‘Fallbarn Road’ those works made a prominent contrast to his signature burnt orange and brick red that depict Manchester so effortlessly. Notable inclusions in this exhibition were seven striking ink drawings; “the ink drawings are a selection from a recent outpouring of work, in which I rediscovered the pleasure of working with the purity and simplicity of black ink on white paper.” Liam explains that in some ways he is more intrigued by the reduced subject matter and the abstract elements of the brushstrokes that can be used to suggest a figure or movement. Pared down to black, white and grey the work is at once a realis- tic depiction but simultaneously abstract in the way it distorts reality by removing colour. However, Liam’s love affair with oils (and colour), which began back in College, is far from over. Given an extravagant twelve tubes of oil at the begin- ning of his course at Manchester Polytechnic, he was encouraged by occasional visitor Rob Welsh to work outside, directly from his subject, this critical push coupled with an introduction to the work of Tom Watt, an artist who was exhibiting locally at the time, allowed Liam to find his own style and direction. Although he enjoyed art at school, he says it was “pretty boring” and Liam never really believed painting could become his living. However, after graduating from Manchester Polytechnic in 1986 with a degree in Fine Art, Liam gave himself a year to try painting with the fall back of pursuing an Art History MA or, another love of his, as a musician. However, Liam’s dreams of becoming a musician had to take a backseat as his foray into painting led to a studio at MASA where he continued for many years. Unfortunately, Liam remembers little of his early artistic designs so to find out more I went to Mrs Philomena Spencer, Liam’s mother, and asked her where it all began. Mrs Spencer explains that although there is no history of artists in the family, all five of her children are incredibly creative, choosing careers in art, photography and music. Looking back in retrospect makes it easier to see his creative nature. Mrs Spencer describes the young Liam Spencer as a sensitive child who showed a distinct interest in colours and an acute awareness of what was going on around him. On family outings to Townly Hall he loved to wander round and would gaze intently at the pictures displayed and equally enjoyed visits to the art galleries and Hebden Bridge. She recalls several particular incidents that characterize his creativity; he constructed - with the help of his brother Sean who was always roped in on such occa- sions - a complete nativity scene in incredible detail, ornamented with pieces of tinsel and straw from the grocers. Later as a teen, he showed his eye for detail as he painstakingly embroidered his denim jacket. On another occa- sion he bought his mum two oil paintings for Christmas and they still decorate her wall today. This interest in art was never fully recognised until Liam decided to pursue Art at College and while ever supportive, Liam’s parents naturally worried over the stability of life as a painter. At his final exhibition at the Polytechnic, young Liam was eager to hear his father’s opin- ion. Although he praised and nodded throughout, Liam cajoled his mum into divulging the genuine feelings of his father, to which the answer was, “Well Liam, your dad can’t understand why you’re painting rooftops, he thinks it’s a bit strange!” However, Mrs Spencer says that Liam remained passionate and committed and both she and his dad are incredibly proud of the success Liam has achieved. Asked if she has any favourites, a commission for his dad’s 70th birthday is mentioned, then ‘Red Chair in Studio’, which leads to a much longer list! And what about the next genera- tion? Whilst Liam believes that his sons, like all children, have a “magic touch” when it comes to drawing and being creative, he has recently noticed that Tom showed particular interest in a certain drawing that Liam had been working on. Having previ- ously taken his father’s work for granted during their daily visits to his studio after school, Tom was now looking at it with a discerning eye. So watch this space, there might be another artist in the Spencer family in the near future. I would like to thank Mrs Spencer and the artist for their kind help with this article… To coincide with his September solo show, the Wendy J Levy Contemporary Art Gallery introduced a further two signed limited edition prints to the Liam Spencer print collection: ‘Bury New Road (Boddingtons’s Steam)’ and ‘Peveril of the Peak’. For details please see the gallery website: www.wendyjlevy-art.com and visit the ‘Prints’ page where the complete range of Liam’s signed limited edition prints can be seen and purchased online. Liam Spencer’s next solo exhibition will take place in 2009 at the Wendy Levy Gallery. RECENTLY WORKING ON A PROJECT OF ISTANBUL, LIAM’S DREAM IS TO VISIT CUBA, DRAWN BY THE BEAUTIFUL CRUMBLING ARCHITECTURE AND VINTAGE CARS Ilfracombe Harbour Another sell-out exhibition for Liam Spencer Yellow Cycling Cape Fallbarn Road Thinking About Going In View From The Bus Visitors admire the exhibition