Following on from his first solo art exhibition at The Larder last year, Daniel Roy Sharples is launching his latest exhibition in Garstang next weekend.

The artist and teacher takes inspiration from the local area painting in oils en plein air, setting up his easel outside and painting for two to four hours at a time. For his latest exhibition, he has ventured beyond Preston. We went to find out more.

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Last year Daniel Sharples exhibited a series of beautiful oil paintings depicting scenes in and around Preston. The artist specialises in portrait and landscape painting, combining his artistic practice with teaching art at a local secondary school.

In the past, Daniel has exhibited his work at various galleries around the country, including the Royal Institute of Oil Painters and the Royal Society of British Artists annual exhibition, but last year challenged himself to complete twenty-five paintings to exhibit in The Larder.  

Has your practice changed since your last exhibition at The Larder? 

I don’t think my practice has changed per se, but I have hopefully got used to painting en plein air more since then. There’s so much to consider when painting outside, compared to the studio. Besides the obvious things like the weather and where the sun is, I am constantly thinking “Will I be in the way of this shop entrance? Am I going to get hit by a car if stand here? How long can I paint in this cold before my fingers fall off?”

I would say I’ve got better, more efficient at planning my paintings, scouting locations, and getting them done in a shorter amount of time. 

Your exhibition features paintings from across Lancashire, tell me about some of the locations. Do you have a favoured location to paint? 

I started painting in Garstang at the start of this year and it’s become one of my favourite places to paint. I was initially attracted to all the narrow passageways off the high street, or ‘weinds’ as they call them. It’s still really quiet on the high street on a Sunday so I could set up outside the shops that were closed and paint all afternoon. People in Garstang have been very friendly too when they see me painting.

After I had done a few paintings, Garstang Arts Centre got in touch and asked if I’d like to put on an exhibition, so I said of course! Since then, I’ve been painting non-stop all around Garstang and areas around the north of Preston, such as Woodplumpton, Brock, Bilsborrow, and so on, with the furthest paintings being at the end of the Lancaster Canal near Glasson Dock. 

Do you have a favourite time of day to paint? 

I don’t have a favourite time of day to paint. However, when I first started painting en plein air I would go out as early as I could because I wasn’t confident painting in front of people and I thought it would be quieter. I soon learnt that painting in Preston city centre at 5am was a bit too quiet and, with nobody else around, I would be the sole attraction to a number of unsavoury characters! 

Since then, I’ve become comfortable setting out later on and painting during the afternoon on busy streets and I enjoy chatting with people as they ask me about my work.

Your paintings are available to buy, what price do they start at? 

Yes, all of the paintings are original oils on linen and are available to buy. They start at around £195 (framed) and I have some signed giclée prints available at £29.99. 

The exhibition of Daniel Sharples’ paintings is at Garstang Arts Centre, The Old Grammar School, Croston Road, Garstang, PR3 1EB.  The preview show takes place on Sunday 8 May and then the exhibition runs until Saturday 4 June. It is open on Saturdays 10am to 12.30pm, and Tuesdays and Thursdays 10am to 4pm.

You can follow Daniel Roy Sharples on Facebook, and view more of his work on his website, dsharplesart.com.

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