"Hinton's figures are as distinctive to his work as matchstick men are to Lowry's."

For many years Norfolk artist Brian Hinton has captivated his audience with his vigorous and colourful paintings of café and street life around the Mediterranean, and of musicians and dancers in theatres, smoky jazz clubs and pubs. Whilst still painting arresting canvases of tango dancers and poignant images of lovers in Romanesque decaying buildings, he has recently turned his discerning eye to more local subjects - farmhands, walkers on windy promenades, golfers, rugby players, summer beach scenes, shooting parties, gardeners at work on allotments, and factory workers.

Whatever the theme of Brian’s paintings, it is always the people that spring to life from the canvas. Hinton’s profound understanding of the human form and his skill as a draughtsman ensure that he conveys in his images both a compelling sense of movement and readily understood body language. His meticulously composed paintings are filled with energy and vitality, with his swirling, sensuous figures glowing with vibrant colours.

Hinton’s paintings evolve from many detailed drawings, each a work of art in its own right. Throughout his working life Hinton has explored the human condition on an almost daily basis through his thousands of drawings and sketches, with none ever thrown away. With his almost photographic memory he captures and expresses his experience of people and places in flowing lines, in worked and reworked detail, offering a fascinating fusion of direct observation and imagination.

A permanent collection of Brian Hinton’s work is housed at Valley Farmhouse Barn, Gunthorpe, between Fakenham and Holt in Norfolk, open by appointment with the artist. See the contact page for details.

To see some of his very distinctive works please visit the paintings and drawings links.