—  ABOUT  — 

Born in 1978 in Darlington, Durham, Dylan Lisle studied Fine Art at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen, Scotland. Lisle has strong connections with the Scottish art community having painted from studios in both Edinburgh and Aberdeen for many years. Now based in Manchester, he continues to paint at 1853 Studios in Oldham, Greater Manchester.

Lisle has always been fascinated by the academic and technical aspects of painting and drawing. He challenges himself creatively by employing methods and processes pioneered by masters such as Caravaggio and Zurbaran. Techniques widely used in the 15-1600s, such as monochromatic underpainting, glazing and dry brush, are adapted to create working processes particular to each subject. The process of understanding and applying these methods is a strong motivating factor in Lisle’s work; each painting could be seen as an exercise in the mastery of these techniques.

With the help of life models, Lisle explores his interest in anatomy. The poses he uses are typically based on particular physical dynamics such as the torsion of the body, the tension of a muscle group or the weight of a limb. He attempts to deconstruct these characteristics in order to represent them accurately and convincingly through the consideration of details that are often overlooked.

The Style of this work stems from an appreciation of the dark, moody and striking images found in Baroque and Classical art. The strong chiaroscuro lighting of Caravaggio and the tactile quality of Titian’s drapery are of great influence. Lisle borrows elements of these styles and marries them with unusual, challenging poses and compositions more reminiscent of 20th Century work. The juxtaposition of these different approaches culminates in something that, whilst remaining progressive, pays homage to the fading notion of painting as a skilful craft.

Lisle’s most recent pieces form part of a new body of work exploring the evolution of self-image and the prominence of public perception evident in the 21st Century. Pinioned by a close look at the egocentric nature of modern society, these new paintings elicit enquiry into the value of traditional artforms in an era saturated by social media and the veneration of vanity.

While the traditional trope of memento mori is evident in this collection, Lisle also uses the motif of tropical flowers to signify inevitable regrowth after decline – the evolution of the world after the hubris of our generation has died out. In the same way, animal imagery is laced throughout these works, symbolising hope, sacrifice and the decline of insight. Lisle’s use of distortion highlights how tradition is being warped and forgotten. He considers our skewed view of value and longevity and questions how we equate the ephemeral nature of life and the immortality of art.