David Tress

The Land Greening by David Tress (mixed media on paper, 2006) demonstrates the artist’s technique of multiple layering of thick paper, scoring of the surface and expressive application of paint. Here, shafts of brilliant sunlight burst over a spring landscape near the hamlet of Trefasser, Pembrokeshire. Private collection.

David Tress (born 11 April 1955) is a British artist noted particularly for his deeply personal interpretations of landscapes in and around his home in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. He combines the techniques of collage and impasto with conventional painting and drawing to produce results that have been categorized as a form of abstract expressionism.

Early life

Tress was born in Wembley, northwest London, and studied at Harrow College of Art before graduating in Fine Arts from Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham (now Nottingham Trent University). In 1976 he moved to Pembrokeshire where he has lived ever since. His wife, Marijke Tress-Braaksma, is also an artist. :)

Work and technique

In Wales, Tress began painting local scenes in water-colour and other media, developing a highly detailed realism epitomized by works such as Winter Sun (1983) and First Sun, Preseli (1984).

Deciding that he had reached the limit of what he could achieve with realism alone, he instead developed an aggressively expressionist style that involves physically scraping or cutting the painted surface and then repairing it, building up layer upon layer as if to mimic the seasonal sequence of decay and regrowth. Tress makes sketches in the field but the final paintings are done in his studio, relying as much on memory and emotional response to the subject as on the original drawing. Although much of his work borders on the abstract, some, particularly his graphite drawings, is intensely realistic, taking on an almost photographic quality when viewed from a distance. As well as Wales, his subjects include landscapes in Scotland, the Lake District, Ireland and southern France, along with cityscapes of London.

He was one of 48 British artists and designers commissioned by the Royal Mail for the Millennium stamp series. His design, issued in September 1999 as part of a set called The Farmers’ Tale, depicted open-field farming at Laxton near Newark, Nottinghamshire. It was also Royal Mail’s contribution to that year’s Europa postage stamp issue on the theme of Parks and Reserves.

References

• Rendell, Clare (2002). David Tress. Gomer Press. ISBN 978-1-84323-080-9. 

External links

• David Tress website
• David Tress page at artcymru

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Name	Tress, David
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Date of birth	11 April 1955
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