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Landlord’s Castle, by Peter Howson – the artist says his paintings should not be misread, and contain images that are ‘very hopeful’ |
Christian painter faces his demons in hellish exhibition
THE artist they dub the Scottish Michelangelo will be taking time off from painting the ceiling of a cathedral in Glasgow to attend a new exhibition of his latest works at the Flowers East gallery later this month.
Peter Howson, famous for his religiously inspired and often grotesque images, is currently painting a memorial to St John Ogilvie, Scotland’s only canonised martyr, in St Andrew’s Cathedral. It is the largest commission for a Catholic church in Scotland since the Reformation 400 years ago.
The artist, whose admirers and collectors include Madonna, David Bowie and Mick Jagger, will have 34 new works on show at the gallery at Kingsland Road.
Under the theme “Harrowing of Hell”, the paintings often represent Howson’s own battle with his demons – which have included drink and drugs – culminating in his conversion to Christianity in 2000.
Peter, who was the official war artist in Bosnia, told the Tribune last night he found it almost impossible to do happy, pleasant images.
He added: “But you mustn’t misread these works, because the painting called the Harrowing of Hell, for example, is actually very hopeful.”
Peter describes himself as a follower of Christ without being interested in the divisions of the Christian church.
But his greatest inspiration, he says, is his daughter Lucie, 22, who suffers from epilepsy and Asperger’s syndrome. “I’ve also got Asperger’s so we both wind each other up. But despite all her health problems – she’s a fighter and very, very important to me. If you look carefully at my paintings you can usually find a small image of Lucie.”
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