Talking With Painters

Steve Lopes is not looking to make a pretty picture. For a work to be enduring he believes 'there has to be a level of poison in it', some gritty quality that keeps you coming back. His powerful painting which won the Gallipoli Art Prize this year contains that little bit of poison. It lures the viewer with an evocative sunset only to reveal the reminders of battle trenches and detritus scattered across the landscape. Lopes has been painting figurative work for over twenty years starting at a time when it was decidedly unfashionable. He has been acknowledged by art critic John McDonald as 'one of the most dedicated artists you'll find anywhere' and his outstanding works in his distinctive figurative style have captured the attention of art collectors and institutions alike. He seeks to deal with the figure and the landscape together, depicting the relationship we have with our surrounds and does that in any way he can get the paint onto the surface, always looking for a way to push it further. He has exhib