Piran Bishop

Piran Bishop (born 1961) is a British portraitist.

Early career

thumb|"Henry" -oil on canvas. Private commission.Bishop is based in Exeter, and studied at Art Colleges in Exeter and Brighton. He was sketched by Robert Lenkiewicz as a child, and became a "casual student" of his from 1994 until Lenkiewicz's death in 2002. Bishop is the subject of several portraits by Lenkiewicz. [http://www.lenkiewicz.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=189&Itemid=66&limit=1&limitstart=1]

Before settling to a career as a portraitist, Bishop worked for Exeter City Council as a local archaeological and architectural illustrator; some of his sketches are still used by the City Council as educational and reference materials. [http://www.exeter.gov.uk/timetrail/11_lategeorgian/object_detail.asp?photoref=12_48]

Portraits

Bishop usually works in oil on canvas. He has said that when painting women, he prefers to paint them nude. [http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:UnJvAUeN0_MJ:www.mfbank.com/portal/story.asp%3Fidstr%3D91865273+%22piran+bishop%22&hl=en&gl=uk&ct=clnk&cd=22 ]

Commercial commissions include a series of eight portraits of adult learners for Ufi/learndirect, painted between January and March 2001. [http://www.ufi.com/strategic%20plan/english/artist.htm] Bishop described the series as his "biggest project to date". [http://www.learndirect.co.uk/personal/news/news/portraits/]

Some of Bishop's private commissions can be seen on his website. [http://www.piranbishop.com/benway.php]

Exhibitions

Bishop has exhibited at the Mall Galleries in London and at several South-West galleries, including The Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, and the Coombe Farm Gallery.

External links

* [http://www.piranbishop.com/benway.php Piran Bishop's commercial website]
* [http://www.lenkiewicz.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=189&Itemid=66 Investigating the Portraiture of Piran Bishop and Robert Lenkiewicz]