A Meeting with Les Shaw

I first met Les Shaw over a year ago when I chewed the fat with him about the state of Southend High Street as part of my research for the Open-Source project and was made aware of his status as a linchpin of Southend artists, having taught and worked with many of Southend's born and bred artists from the late 60's onwards. Having been thoroughly trained at art school for 8 years in West Bromwich Les migrated to Southend, after working in advertising, to work in education whilst creating works.

These days Les is as active as ever, being a leading figure of Studio 11, a traditional yet vibrant gallery ideally located with sea views, opposite the Cliffs and next door to the Beecroft. I met Les again briefly at last week's Pecha Kucha at Chalkwell Park and we arranged to meet. He informed me of his visit to Art Action as we opined about the nature of drawing, painting and spirituality. I was impressed by Les' incredibly focussed, yet open-minded conversation, which are also values you can see in his work. I don't know how old Les is but it doesn't matter in the slightest; he's as fresh faced and vital as he's obviously always been - which is probably why he's still regarded as one of our true Southend artists.

The 'ABSTRACTED' exhibition at Studio 11 is on until early September, a group show that contains a number of Les's works, as well as the other members of the Studio. The show is a delightful display of visceral visuals.