Andrew Tozer was born in Cornwall in 1974 and initially studied art at Falmouth School of Art and Design. He followed this with a First Class Hons Degree in Illustration at the University of Westminster, and then went on to take a Post Graduate Diploma in Communications Design at Central St Martin’s School of Art and Design.
Andrew is a well-established Cornish artist whose work is much collected. His subjects are predominantly local landscapes and seascapes, approached in a contemporary style which is reminiscent of Impressionist paintings but very much his own.
Andrew said: “I’ve learned a lot about painting outside from the Impressionists, but I’m as much influenced by modern painters such as Richard Diebenkorn and Giorgio Morandi. Most of all I want my works to feel vital, contemporary and my own.”
Andrew uses a subtle palette, and characteristically makes use of atmospheric light and unusual colours. Scenes are immediately recognisable, and because he paints en plein air, have an immediacy and vitality about them.
He said: “First and foremost I paint outdoors, on the spot in oil and acrylic. I believe that this method of working gives the most authentic results - it is as if a piece of the day has been seized, a lasting impression of it has been recorded.
"I am not obsessive about starting and finishing all of the painting in-situ, although this does happen on many occasions.
"Throughout the history of painting, artists have relied upon preliminary drawings, colour studies (watercolours, oil sketches or pastels) and more recently photography to compose their works, and to ultimately achieve their initial aims. It could be said that my working process is an organic one, incorporating and utilising all of these methods.
“I think that over the past four or five years my visual memory has become more adept and I am gradually building a good collection of sketchbooks and colour studies to help in the production of future work.
"I want to be able to produce paintings that have authenticity about them. Most of all, I want them to reflect my surroundings in a truthful and simple way.”
