Arts & crafts

Devon is a county where creativity and the arts thrive. People have been making and sharing art here for thousands of years and the art of the past is embedded in our environment and culture. Devon has a vast and varied legacy, and every day artists are adding to its richness through new work.

You can share in this wealth of art by visiting Devon's galleries, historic buildings and museums. Sculptors, photographers, painters and potters often welcome visitors to their studio also. Devon's theatres, festivals and arts centres present performers from around the world alongside the many talented actors, musicians and dancers who make their home in Devon. And if you want to grow your own creative skills, this is a great place to learn. There are courses through the year in drawing, drumming, singing, writing, making films and a good deal more.

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Plymouth’s colourful Barbican waterfront is one of the scenes that have provided the inspiration for the colourful oil paintings of Devon-based artist Robert Cordingley. 

The young artist has already made the step into the professional world with successful exhibitions and commissions in the UK and beyond.

Robert’s painting style is fascinating to watch as he works straight from paint in a very abstract way. Broad panels of key colours in the image begin to form shapes and shades and his paintings evolve more through use of colour than through the structure of the scenes or subjects he paints. The detail is added slowly and the colourful scenes begin to emerge.

“I have always been drawn to colour and am inspired when something beautifully colourful catches my eye. Impressionists painted in this way with the structure drawn from the colours in a composition. I particularly like working with the tonal differences in colours and playing with the varied tones of blues and purples – so little in our surroundings is truly black.”

He also tends to work on all pieces in a series together over a period of up to two months, revisiting each piece many times and adding colours and detail. Although most of his works are oil on canvas, he also enjoys working with egg tempera which he mixes himself.

His love of colourful city life is evident in latest series, “The Barbican series was one that I particularly enjoyed. I visited in the early mornings to capture the dawn reflections and subtler colours and also in the evening as the sun was setting. There is also something truly peaceful about these bustling places before they come to life for the day.”

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