Artists directory

Andrew

Stratford

Andrew Stratford is a contemporary landscape painter based in North Yorkshire. His work focuses on atmosphere, weather and the emotional resonance of place, drawing on the moorlands and coastlines of northern England. Painting in oil and acrylic, Andrew uses an expressive, process-led approach in which layers are built, disrupted and reworked. The resulting surfaces move between abstraction and representation, evoking the physical and sensory experience of landscape rather than a fixed depiction. After a career in primary education, he now works full time as an artist and runs painting and drawing courses and workshops that encourage a more intuitive and exploratory approach to materials and mark-making. His work has been exhibited in galleries and selected exhibitions across the UK, and is held in private collections, reflecting a growing recognition of his distinctive atmospheric approach. “My paintings explore the shifting atmosphere of the northern landscape — not as a fixed view, but as something felt, remembered and constantly changing. Working between observation and abstraction, I build each piece through layered paint, allowing marks to be obscured, revealed and reworked. This process mirrors the instability of weather itself — moments of clarity emerging from turbulence, light breaking through dense, unsettled space. I’m not interested in describing a place precisely. Instead, I’m trying to hold onto something more fleeting: the weight of air before rain, the pull of wind across open ground, the sense of standing within a landscape rather than looking at it. These paintings sit within an ongoing body of work

Disciplines: Painting

Location: Harrogate

Materials: Acrylic, Monoprint, Oil
Andrew Stratford is a contemporary landscape painter based in North Yorkshire. His work focuses on atmosphere, weather and the emotional resonance of place, drawing on the moorlands and coastlines of northern England. Painting in oil and acrylic, Andrew uses an expressive, process-led approach in which layers are built, disrupted and reworked. The resulting surfaces move between abstraction and representation, evoking the physical and sensory experience of landscape rather than a fixed depiction. After a career in primary education, he now works full time as an artist and runs painting and drawing courses and workshops that encourage a more intuitive and exploratory approach to materials and mark-making. His work has been exhibited in galleries and selected exhibitions across the UK, and is held in private collections, reflecting a growing recognition of his distinctive atmospheric approach. “My paintings explore the shifting atmosphere of the northern landscape — not as a fixed view, but as something felt, remembered and constantly changing. Working between observation and abstraction, I build each piece through layered paint, allowing marks to be obscured, revealed and reworked. This process mirrors the instability of weather itself — moments of clarity emerging from turbulence, light breaking through dense, unsettled space. I’m not interested in describing a place precisely. Instead, I’m trying to hold onto something more fleeting: the weight of air before rain, the pull of wind across open ground, the sense of standing within a landscape rather than looking at it. These paintings sit within an ongoing body of work

Previous Experience

May 2026 Art In Your Eyes, Leeds May 2026 Unearthed – Parish Project, Malton Feb – 10 May 2026 Inspired By… Gallery, Danby Lodge, Whitby Apr 2026 – Bravo Open Studio, Knaresborough Oct 2025 – Jan 2026 North Art Winter Exhibition, Northlight Arts Centre, Leeds Oct 2025 – Bravo Open Studio, Knaresborough, Oct 2025 – 19th Community Art Exhibition, Circular Art Space, Bristol Sep – Oct 2025 – ‘Weather Forecast’, Badger in the Wall Gallery, Clapham, North Yorkshire Aug 2025 Art in The Hub for FEVA, Knaresborough July 2025 Ampleforth Abbey, Ampleforth June/July 2025 ‘Connections’ Exhibition Harrogate Library June 2025 North Yorkshire Open Studios, Harrogate Aug 2024 ‘Travelling the Sublime’ Solo Exhibition – Harrogate June 2024 North Yorkshire Open Studios – Harrogate June 2023 North Yorkshire Open Studios – Harrogate

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