djart@mypostoffice.co.uk

‘Personal observation and experience of the subject matter is the key to all my work. I am keen to employ other senses such as the sense of touch into my finished work. I enjoy this tactile approach, be it imaginary or real, as an aid to understanding and depicting the three dimensional world onto a two dimensional surface. I am keen to explore a variety of methods of painting from illustrative to abstract.'
 

I was born and raised in the Hillsborough district of Sheffield. Two weeks after leaving school at the age of fifteen, in 1959, I was guided into an engineering apprenticeship by my parents and headmaster and away from pursuing a possible career in art, despite having passed an entrance exam to join the city art college. It no doubt seemed to my parents (and probably was) a good idea at the time. While studying engineering  I also passed an A level art exam; to date my only academic art qualification. My interest in art and painting continued during my spare time alongside the 'real job' in engineering. 

During a four year period of living and working in engineering in Canada, starting in 1968, I pursued my interest in art and increased my drawing and sketching abilities at evening life drawing classes. I returned to the UK and Sheffield in 1972 to continue working in engineering, until the opportunity to join a small marketing services team in the same company allowed me to use what artistic abilities I had, in pursuing a career in graphic design. I furthered my career in this sector by becoming Marketing Services Manager for a wholesale and retail company in Sheffield. Self motivation following this experience has never been a problem. Design and illustration work included everything from point of sale, advertising campaigns, window display design and design and construction of large wholesale exhibitions. Oh yes! ... and floats for Lord Mayor's Parades. 

I became self employed as an artist and graphic designer in 1967 and two years later moved to Whitby North Yorkshire with my family and opened the Forge Gallery and artist's studio in nearby Robin Hood's Bay. I closed the gallery in 2008 continuing to produce artwork from my home studio in Whitby. The Forge Gallery logo and name has been retained for continuity with this on-line gallery. 

To say I am a totally self taught artist would be doing a disservice to all those professional artists, art tutors and dedicated amateur artists that I have met in various art groups and classes who have taught me painting skills and generously passed on to me their knowledge and information about art. Their inspiration has helped me to pursue my earlier ambition: to make a living from painting pictures, and to these people I am extremely grateful.

Dave Jeffery

Dave's claim to fame: 

Creator of the front cover art work 
for the legendary Def Leppard EP:

Paintings created by Dave Jeffery have been exhibited and sold to private buyers throughout the world and exhibited and sold in various open art exhibitions and municipal and private galleries in the following locations:

Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Grindleford, Derbyshire 
Wetherby, West Yorkshire 
Knaresborough, West Yorkshire
Scarborough, North Yorkshire
Whitby, North Yorkshire
Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire