Alan Furneaux

British, born 1953

Alan Furneaux was born in London in 1953.

Artists such as, Frost, Hitchens, Nicholson, Matisse, Klee, Picasso, Braque, to name but a few were all early influences of his art but at the age of 14, he was greatly influenced by the English painter, Patrick Heron for his simple and direct approach. Alan left Secondary Modern School at 17 and went to Reigate School of Art for two years although it he did not make art his career until much later.

In 1985, Furneaux moved to Brighton, finding rooms near George Hann’s studio. George (who was his grandfather) was an established artist and the two men formed a mutual friendship based on discussions about Jack Kerouac, George’s life as a painter, and art in general.

Now actively working in Cornwall on the Penwith coast of Penzance, Alan paints in oils or acrylics.

Furneaux readily describes his style as ‘naïve’ in as much as it’s representative of a very uncomplicated, blocky visual disposition, complete with interesting shapes and frequented with saturated colours. There is an almost child-like charm and pictorial resonance to its application, a stripped-back counter to over-elaborate renderings. To extract the maximum light play, Furneaux generally chooses to undertake his paintings in the middle of the afternoon.