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Alan Kestner
In my pictures I try to tell a story. First I create an abstract composition using non-figurative shapes and colour. I then spend some time staring into what, at first sight, seems a complete mess until I begin to see real elements such as fish, animals and birds and mold them into individual elements of the final composition. This aids the storytelling, because these real animals and people can then hopefully evoke emotional charge in the viewer’s mind.
I studied art at Headington and then Newcastle-upon-Tyne where I developed an interest in French modern primitive painters such as Camille Bombois and René Rimbert. I wrote my history of art dissertation on the Douanier Rousseau. After university I worked first in scientific publishing at Pergamon Press and then Blackwell Scientific. Next I worked as an art teacher in several Oxford schools. Finally from 1987 to 2016 I worked as a computer programmer producing multimedia learning programs for the automotive industry, including Volkswagen, Citroen, Land Rover and Autoglass. I have always painted, but mainly in the evenings and weekends. However, now I am retired I can devote myself full time to art. I have a one man exhibition coming up at the Poolhaus in Blankenese, Hamburg from 21 November to 3 December.