Born in the industrial suburb of Kingswinford, near Stourbridge, on the edge of the Black Country, Gavin Lockheart’s upbringing was characterised by the contrasts of beautiful countryside and heavy industry. He spent summers working in a steelworks before taking Art Foundation at Stourbridge College of Art, where he later taught.

He left the Midlands for London in 1980, studying painting at St Martin’s School of Art before pursuing a career as a painter. His creative practice has, over the years, been complemented by freelance work, first as a dresser for English National Opera, as a specialist/decorative painter and more recently as a scenic painter for film and television projects, while consistently painting his own work for over 40 years.

Now based in central London and West Wales, Gavin’s body of work spans oil on canvas, acrylic on both paper and canvas, drawing and printmaking. He finds inspiration in photography, both his own and found images, as well as his recollections of past life experiences. Gavin was nominated for the David and Yuko Juda Art Foundation Grant this year, one of the art world’s most prestigious grants.