Brian Gordon

1939, British

Tags: Painting

Brian Gordon was born in Bromborough, Wirral, Cheshire in 1939. He spent a good deal of his childhood with his grandparents in working class Liverpool. The strong spirit of those days, the ferry rides on the Mersey, street markets and the bustling street life remained with him and became the basis of his work. He left school at fifteen and served an apprenticeship as a metal engraver, with time spent at the Liverpool School of Art.

All his paintings have been depicted on slate taken from the demolished roofs of the factories and houses he knew as a child. Using his engraving techniques with hammer and engraving chisels, the images were first engraved in the slate and then painted in oils. The use of slate was very important to him as he felt that the slate had also played a part in the scene portrayed on it.