Chris Williamson

Chris was born in Croydon, and later
studied Illustration at Barnfield College,
Luton. After training as a graphic designer and
working in several respectable positions
within the design and advertising sector,
he now paints full time – creating his
characterful pieces in his quiet studio in
Corton, Suffolk, with panoramic views of
the sea. Often described as quirky and
whimsical, his playful work usually
involves an atmospheric land or
seascape, populated with his characters
– the gaunt and dry-humoured ‘Garfield
Eldritch’ (and occassional female
companion ‘Babs’) and his faithful Jack
Russell pal ‘Barton Darcy’.
The British east coast landscape and
vernacular architecture feature heavily
as a backdrop, and humour is often
evident, with Chris saying “I like to give
people a grin if I can”.
He paints on panel using a large
palette of oil colours, sometimes mixing
metallics (silver, copper or
gold) into the paint as “it makes things
shimmer – particularly the sea”.
Virtually all of Chris’ work is
accompanied by a humorous ‘dittie’ –
a four line poem about the world as
Barton Darcy the Jack Russell sees it – a
‘dog’s eye view’ if you will. The poems
themselves evolve from the annotations
of Chris’ initial sketches.