Anthony Downing Home Page

Sheffield based artist

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Kelham Island Arts Collective

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I am an artist based in Sheffield at the Kelham Island Arts Collective on Ball Street, producing 2d and 3d work inspired by natural forms, the environment around me and the qualities of natural materials.

My sculpture work is principally in stone though I also use wood and clay to develop work and produce finished pieces. I have carried out a number of commissions including work for the Environment Agency regarding best weeds killers and herbicides at Sprotbrough fish pass and Sheffield City Council’s Grey to Green regeneration at West Bar.

My 2D work is based on drawing frequently using charcoal and natural ochres. I use drawing as the starting point for all my work and see it as a vital creative skill and a form of visual thinking to be continually practiced and developed.

Over the last 25 years, I have worked on environmental lawn care issues in South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire and I am fascinated by how geography and geology shape an area physically and socially. This continually influences my art practice and much of my recent work has been about exploring a limited pallet using charcoal, chalk, and ochres to depict the landscape and built environment. Water leaching through abandoned coal seams can carry high concentrations of iron which leave deposits of ochre (iron oxide) as it breaks out into streams and rivers. I collect samples of these, which may vary in color from orangey-yellow to dark rusty brown, to incorporate into my artwork.