
Steve Bonner – About the artist

“Art, love, and passion are very closely related. Because they all hinge more or less on realisation of beauty in some form or other, or in its pleasure-
Hi, I’m Steve Bonner and I’m a self-
When computers took over back in the ’90’s, rather than put aside my paintbrushes (the posters were all hand painted in those days), I took to fine art and never looked back. I’ve been painting pictures ever since. My work still has a faintly graphical quality to it – probably always will. An Art Dealer once told me my paintings all looked like record album covers. This was some years back: he may have been right, but then he was a bit of an arse, as are many in his profession.
A number of galleries here in the UK have historically hung my work but I’m not actually represented by a single one – never have been. I’m still represented by the Gallery of Caribbean Art in Speightstown, Barbados, although it’s now fourteen years since my last exhibition there – my fault, not theirs. I have my own mini gallery in East Wittering: it is small, but it enables me to hang my larger pieces which is handy.
If I have to be pigeon-
I work in most mediums –
The downside to oil painting in this country is the time it takes for them to dry during the winter: consequently I usually switch to acrylics for the winter months.
I was featured in Dr Marsha Pearce’s scholarly tome “Travel, Tourism, and Art” – a whole chapter – whatever next 🙂 Marsha called it ‘Retouching the sensory experience’, the way I painted not what actually was but the experience one has as one first sets foot on a Caribbean beach. I still try to acheive that here on the south coast.
How much can you expect to pay for my work? Anywhere from 150 quid for one of my little affordables to 2.5k: the bulk of them being £450.00 to £550.00. The most I’ve ever achieved is 6k (it was beautiful!) and my larger Caribbean paintings all sold for between 3.5K and 4.5K. The most exasperating comments I’ve ever had – “I wish I’d known about you before I spent thousands on a painting in that gallery in Chichester” – that’s happened a couple of times!
I’m not exactly prolific. I generally produce one or two paintings a month with the big oils often painted over two or three months: I am supposed to be retired when alls said and done!
My studio is in my garden in West Wittering, West Sussex, and is basically a giant shed (it IS pretty huge!) – it’s warm and dry, well ventilated, with good light, and so far has withstood the outrageous winds we get on this coast. As I said earlier it’s just a stones throw from one of the most beautiful beaches around, so give me a call to know you’re coming, then drive down, see my work and then stroll down the road to the real thing – just don’t chose a Bank Holiday weekend, with only one road on and off the Manhood Penninsula (as this area south of Chichester is bizarrely named) the holiday traffic can lock it up solid.
See you soon I hope. Warmest.
SB

Commissions
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All images Copyright © Steve Bonner, 2021. All rights reserved.