What lies beyond? This seems to be the question posed by Haydn Cottam's beguiling landscape paintings. In most of them the subject appears to be a stream or a building or an island. But these points of interest remain slightly out of reach. In almost every one there are trees in the way. And just to add to the mystery, there might even be a person or two reflected in the water.
It's a rare gift, blending the sensory pleasure of landscape painting with a sense of drama. But it's what Haydn has been working on for most of his 30 plus year career. Haydn was born in Merseyside, and is one of the celebrated generation of British painters to have emerged from St Martin’s College of Art in the eighties – a cohort that included Gavin Lockhart and Peter Doig.
After graduating, Haydn worked briefly as a dresser at the English National Opera. But he kept painting, and soon found considerable success. He was highly commended at the 1990 BP Portrait Award and also won the BP Travel award in 1991. He has exhibited in Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Cardiff, Leicester, East Anglia, Cheltenham and Sussex. His work is part of the BBC archived National Art Collection.
Today, Haydn lives on the English south coast, and says its rolling hills provides constant inspiration for his paintings. He states: “My paintings often depict landscapes, which come from the experience of walking or cycling. They are often inspired by sensory and physical experiences, as well as memory and the emotional connections between mind, body and place."
